PSEi falls below 7,500 on “Brexit” jitters

LOCAL stocks tumbled below the 7,500 mark on Tuesday as “Brexit” fears reverberated across the region, curbing investors’ risk appetite.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 94.28 points or 1.25 percent to close at 7,460.12.

“Anxiety over Britain’s EU referendum next week continues to drive investor demand for hedges,” Citigroup said in a research note.

Brexit refers to the risk of the Great Britain choosing to leave the European Union, which means it will no longer contribute to the EU’s fiscal budget and start drafting trade deals on its own.

All counters declined at the market, led by holding firms which lost 2.02 percent while the property counter lost 1.11 percent.

Value turnover amounted to P6 billion. There were 134 decliners which overwhelmed 48 advancers while 36 stocks were unchanged.

The PSEi was led lower by Metrobank, SMIC and MPI which all fell by over 3 percent while Globe, AP, Megaworld and EDC all slumped by over 2 percent.

AC and BDO declined by over 1 percent while URC, SM Prime, PLDT and GTCAP also slipped.

Outside of the PSEi, the heavily battered stocks were Double Dragon (-14.14 percent) and Xurpas (-5.61 percent).

On the other hand, ALI eked out modest gains.

Oil exploration firm PXP, which is not part of PSEi, surged by 10.99 percent amid a much-anticipated ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nation) meeting with China.