PH stocks down ahead of Duterte SONA

Philippine stocks slid lower ahead of President Duterte’s State of the Nation Address, which started after the market closed, and on sluggish trading across the region.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index was down 0.34 percent, or 27 points, to 7,962.64 while the broader shares index was down 0.27 percent to 4,758.67.

The decline came amid relatively light trading, as investors stayed on the sidelines given the lack of market-moving news.

Data from the PSE showed a total of 2.7 billion shares valued at P5.8 billion changing hands Monday.

Advancers nearly matched decliners 100-109 while 50 companies closed unchanged.

Across sub counters, only services—with a gain of 0.01 percent—closed positive. Losers yesterday were led by mining and oil as well as property, each declining by 0.49 percent.

The industrial subindex lost 0.38 percent while holding firms lost 0.36 percent.

Ayala Land Inc. was the most actively traded on Monday. It gained 1.19 percent to P42.65 a share.

The builder was followed by Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., up 1.27 percent to P88, GT Capital Holdings Inc., up 0.42 percent to P1,200, SM Prime Holdings, down 2.3 percent to P34, and Universal Robina Corp., unchanged at P161 per share.