PSEi falls by 2.6%

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) saw a big drop ahead of the release of inflation data today.

The PSEi ended Thursday’s session lower by 2.6 percent, or 200 points, to 7,535.10.

This was above the key 7,500 support level, according to BDO Unibank Inc. chief strategist Jonathan Ravelas, who noted that concerns over the pace of inflation were global in nature and not isolated to the Philippines.

“This fear of inflation rising is creating adjustments [in the market],” Ravelas said in an interview. Higher oil prices and the weaker peso have added to the uncertainty, he noted.

Ravelas said the PSEi could move higher if economic growth and first-quarter earnings here beat estimates. The benchmark index is down about 13 percent since the start of the year.

Data from the PSEi showed that the broader all-shares index was also down 2.06 percent to 4,602.48 yesterday.
All subsectors closed in the red yesterday. Holding firms were the biggest losers with a decline of 3.47 percent. This was followed by financials, down 2.61 percent; industrial, down 1.7 percent; and services, down 1.64 percent.

Some 1.1 billion shares valued at P7.2 billion changed hands yesterday. There were 128 decliners against 50 gainers while 52 were unchanged.

Retailer Puregold Price Club Inc. was the most actively traded on Thursday. It closed down 2.13 percent to P46 per share.

Metrobank was down 2.91 percent to P83.50; Ayala Land Inc., down 0.24 percent to P40.75; and SM Investments Corp., down 5.01 percent to P900.