PH stocks slump on US election jitters

The local stock barometer slid to its worst level in six months on Thursday, testing the 7,100 mark, as investors turned more anxious during the run-up to the US presidential elections.

Extending its losing streak for the ninth straight session, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed another 91.49 points or 1.26 percent to close at 7,160.91. This marked the lowest close since ending at 6,991.87 on May 6 this year, wiping out all gains seen since the Philippines elected a new president.

Foreign investors were heavy sellers for the day, resulting in P1.88 billion worth of net outflows.

Luis Gerardo Limlingan, managing director at local stock brokerage house Regina Capital Development, said the local market had taken cue from the US market which had fallen for the seventh session overnight. The sluggish sentiment in Wall Street was due to worse-than-expected employment data while political concerns lingered and the US Federal Reserve held back rate hike during its November meeting, Limlingan noted.

“Locally, the PSEi’s breakdown below 200-day moving average (7,390) and one-month support of 7,310 (on Wednesday) shattered hopes of establishing a double bottom reversal pattern. Also, this signals the continuation of the index’s downtrend pattern that started when a second reaction low (bearish pattern) was formed during early October,” Limlingan said.

COL Financial head of research April Lee-Tan said the PSEi’s next support level would be at 7,100, followed by 6,860.

Elsewhere in the region, stock markets were mostly sluggish due to uncertainties over the Nov. 8 US presidential elections.

“Tightening odds for the US election are feeding market nervousness. Given the binary nature of election outcomes, it is likely that investors continue to shed portfolio risk into the event. Thus, as the odds shift further in favor of (Donald) Trump we see some weakness in US equities, slightly lower US Treasury yields, and a milder US dollar. Such price action may continue until the elections,” Citigroup said in a research note.

All counters ended in the red on Thursday, led by the services and property counters which both slumped by over 2 percent.

There were nearly twice as many decliners (127) as advancers (62). Value turnover for the day amounted to P10.144 billion.

The PSEi was weighed down most by PLDT, which slid by 4.1 percent while ALI, SM Prime and JG Summit all fell by over 2 percent. SMIC, MPI, AEV, BPI, Jollibee, AGI and AP all lost over 1 percent.

AC, Security Bank, Megaworld and URC also declined.

GTCAP bucked the day’s downturn with its 2-percent gain while BDO and Metrobank slightly firmed up.

The day’s most actively traded company was Pilipinas Shell, which listed on the PSE under the ticker SHLPH. The oil refiner and distributor gained 0.3 percent to close at P67.20 per share.

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