PLDT slide drags PSEi lower

THE LOCAL stock barometer fell sharply yesterday as investors sold down shares of index heavyweight PLDT due to gloomy prospects for the years ahead.

Reversing early session gains, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 100.26 points or 1.48 percent to close at 6,671.04 as telecom giant slid by nearly 18 percent.

The PSEi retested the 6,800 mark in early trade but dealers said investors were later on spooked by pronouncements from PLDT management that it would take the company three years to recover.

PLDT chair Manuel V Pangilinan had told a press briefing yesterday that it would take three years “before we make a complete turn,” adding that the digital shift was a “long and difficult” process even as 2015 earnings results were in line with consensus.

The steep decline of PLDT—the day’s most actively traded stock—dragged down the services index by 8.35 percent. The financial, holding firm and mining/oil counters likewise slipped.

Rival telecom firm Globe Telecom was also down 2.37 percent as investors anticipated tougher competition in the telecom business with the forthcoming entry of a new player spearheaded by San Miguel Corp. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla