Stock market falls below 4,100 mark over US stimulus doubts

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Stock Exchange index fell below the crucial 4,100 mark, sinking into negative territory for 2011, as a $400-billion stimulus plan by the US Federal Reserve only affirmed bleak economic prospects on the US economy.

The main-share PSEi lost 108.19 points or 2.6 percent to close at 4,096.10, wiping out all gains for the year as the index slid past two key barriers at 4,200 and 4,100.

“Increasingly worrisome external risks came to fore and we remain vigilant.  We expect continued volatility in the interim given the emotionally-driven investment backdrop,” said First Metro Securities head of research Mark Angeles.

With this sell-off, the local index is now behind by 103.9 points or 2.5 percent of its end-2010 level.

The day’s downturn reflected the overnight bloodbath in Wall Street that saw the Dow Jones Industrial Index sink by 283.82 points or 2.49 percent to 11,124.84 as the US Fed announced a portfolio shuffling program to drive down long-term interest rates and perk up the economy.  But this was only taken as cue that the much-awaited full US economic recovery might be far off.

Investors sold down local equities as global risk aversion intensified.  All counters were in the red but the financial and mining/oil counters were the hardest hit, both falling by 3 percent.

There were five decliners for every single gainer at the local market.  Value turnover amounted to P4.95 billion.

PLDT, AGI, Metrobank, ALI, EDC, Meralco, BDO, SM Prime, Megaworld, Aboitiz Power, Semirara, BPI, SM Investments, AEV and URC led the index lower.  Lepanto A (open only to local investors), NiHao, Petron and Lepanto B (open to both local and foreign investors) also fell in heavy trade.

Among the few stocks that bucked that downturn was Abra Mining, which also made it to the day’s list of heavily traded stocks.