PSEi flat, US Fed meeting “non-event”

The local stock barometer was flat on Thursday as the latest US Federal Reserve meeting proved to be a “non-event” while the mining counter was weighed down by a shakeout sanctioned by environmental regulators.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index slipped by 1.54 points or 0.02 percent to close at 7,225.91.

The mining/oil index underperformed for the day, declining by 1.65 percent after the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) announced a number of mining firms which were up for either suspension or closure.

The holding firm and services counters also ended slightly lower while the financial, industrial and property counters were all slightly higher.

Across the region, stock markets traded with mixed sentiment in the aftermath of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting that left key interest rates unchanged.

“The FOMC statement was a non-event, as most investors had anticipated. Perhaps the only new information was the lack of a hawkish signal that would increase the probability of a March rate hike,” Citigroup said in a research note. “More important was the fifth consecutive upside surprise in the US ISM (Institute for Supply Management) manufacturing index. Within the details, the ‘business prices’ sub-index also surprised to the upside (although not by as much as in December) and rose to its highest level since May 2011.”

“Meanwhile, PMI (purchasing managers’ index) readings from elsewhere were also encouraging, with German, French and Russian PMIs continuing to push up to new cyclical highs. This likely will help re-energize global reflationary expectations, although most investors may wait for Friday’s key labor market update before adjusting their portfolios,” Citi said.

“Philippine markets continued to trade flat as the FOMC painted a comparatively positive picture of the U.S. economy which suggests it remains on track to tighten monetary policy this year although it offered no firm signal on the timing of its next rate move,” said Luis Gerardo Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital Development.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P5.94 billion. There were 102 decliners that edged out 80 advancers while 44 stocks were unchanged. Net foreign selling for the day amounted to P240 million.

Metrobank led the PSEi lower, declining by 2.29 percent while GT Capital and Ayala Corp. both slipped by over 1 percent.

SM Investments, Jollibee and Metro Pacific also contributed to the PSEi’s decline.

Outside the PSEi, one notable decliner was Global Ferronickel Holdings (FNI). Its subsidiary Platinum Group Metals – which operates in Surigao del Norte – was among those mining firms that DENR had recommended for closure.

Meanwhile, BDO, URC and BPI all gained. SM Prime, ALI, Security Bank, AP, Megaworld and AEV also firmed up.

Notable gainers outside the PSEi included RRHI (+1.71 percent) and Arthaland (+1.04 percent).