Exodus of foreign funds pulls down PH shares

The local stock barometer slipped on Wednesday as foreign funds continued to flow out of local equities in the absence of fresh catalysts.

Ahead of the much-anticipated monetary setting of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi)  shed 63.96 points or 0.87 percent to close at 7,268.21 in thin trade.

Local stock brokerage Papa Securities said bearish indicators in the US market could dampen market sentiment.

Many analysts expect the inflation-targeting BSP to raise its key interests today by another 50 basis points to curb rising inflationary pressures and inflation expectations, especially in the aftermath of crop damage from Typhoon ‘Ompong.’

The index was weighed down most by the financial counter, which tumbled by 3.6 percent.

The services and mining/oil counters both slid by over 1 percent.

The property counter, however, bucked the downturn with its 1.68-percent gain.

Value turnover remained thin at P4.94 billion.

There was P520 million in net foreign selling for the day.

There were 121 decliners that overwhelmed 66 advancers while 54 stocks were unchanged.

Investors dumped shares of Security Bank, which slid by 7.58 percent, while Metro Pacific, GT Capital and Globe Telecom all slid by over 5 percent.

BDO and BPI both tumbled by over 4 percent, while Aboitiz lost 3.3 percent.

URC, Meralco and AEV all declined by over 2 percent.

Metrobank shed 1.53 percent, while LTG also declined.

Outside the PSEi, the notable decliners were MRC Allied and Vulcan Mining, which fell by 9.86 percent and 10.7 percent, respectively.

On the other hand, SM Prime bucked the downturn, gaining 3.22 percent while Ayala Corp., the day’s most actively traded company, added 2.23 percent.

Ayala Land and RRHI both rose by over 1 percent, while SM Investments also slightly firmed up.