Property counter drags market down

The local stock barometer Thursday slipped below the 7,800 mark despite the regional upswing triggered by hopes of a dovish US Federal Reserve.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 54.67 points or 0.7 percent to close at 7,753.46 as the market resumed trading after a mid-week holiday in observance of the Feast of Ramadhan.

The market was dragged down by the property counter which fell by 1.78 percent. The financial, industrial, holding firms and services counters

also dipped.

In the meantime, the mining/oil counter firmed up by 0.91 percent.

Luis Gerardo Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital, noted that in the aftermath of the Brexit (Britain’s exit from the European Union) vote, up to five property funds in the UK had halted redemption, asking investors to accept a decline in net asset value as they expected a decline in property prices.

Commenting on the latest Federal Reserve Open Market Committee minutes in mid-June, Limlingan said an abysmal May jobs report had startled markets ahead of the British referendum. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla