Index slides 1.53%

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) slid anew yesterday amid mixed sentiments in the region and the decline in Wall Street overnight.

The PSEi closed the session down 1.53 percent, or 109.86 points, to 7,066.57. The broader all-shares index was also down 1.28 percent, or 56.07 points, to 4,323.23.

“We think there is still downward pressure on Philippine equities as investors are not yet fully compensated for the risk they are taking,” Papa Securities said in a note to investors.

It was referring to the Philippine 10-year bond yield of 6.4 percent, a traditionally safer investment, in relation to the 6.1-percent earnings yield of the PSEi. It noted that some index heavyweights would continue to weigh on the PSEi’s performance.

“We think foreign demand for Philippine instruments will likely stay in bonds,” Papa Securities added.

Such risk-averse sentiments were reflected most among property, down 2.54 percent, and holding firms, down 2.05 percent, data on the various subindices showed. The industrial subsector was also down 1.36 percent.

Closing in the green with modest gains were mining and oil, up 0.1 percent, and financials, up 0.06 percent.

Trading yesterday was relatively thin, with 623.6 million shares valued at P5.8 billion changing hands. There were 114 decliners against 79 gainers while 51 companies closed unchanged.

Leading the most actively traded list was fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp., which dropped 4.21 percent to P259.60 per share.

This was followed by Ayala Land Inc., down 1.6 percent to P37, SM Prime Holdings, down 3.52 percent to P34.25, BDO Unibank Inc., up 0.81 percent to P125 and Aboitiz Equity Ventures, down 2.7 percent to P54 per share.