PH, regional markets down, search for clues from Fed

The local stock barometer slipped below the 8,000 mark on Wednesday, weighed down mostly by sluggish regional markets awaiting the US Federal Reserve’s policy decision.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell by 70.87 points or 0.88 percent to close at 7,979.95.

All counters ended in the red, led by the services and property counters, both of which declined by over 2 percent. The financial counter also faltered.

Value turnover was relatively heavy at P9.62 billion.  There was net foreign buying of around P844 million.

“Participants could be on the lookout for the Fed policy statement, although expectations have largely been for the central bank to keep rates steady,” Papa Securities said in a research note.

“The PSEi managed to end the day above 8,000, however, we could continue to see weakness in the short term. It should be treated as a buying opportunity. From a technical standpoint, the pullback is perfectly healthy,” Eagle Equities head of research Christopher Mangun said.

There were 117 decliners that edged out 84 advancers, while 47 stocks were unchanged.

The PSEi was dragged down by AGI, which slid by 3.27 percent, while BDO, Jollibee and Megaworld all declined by over 2 percent.

SM Prime, ICTSI and Puregold all went down by over 1 percent.

Ayala Corp., URC, San Miguel, Meralco and JG Summit also slipped.

Of the advancers, Ayala Land added 1.51 percent.  It was the day’s most actively traded company.

SM Investments also firmed up.

Among the notable gainers outside the PSEi were ISM and MacroAsia, which respectively surged by 9.58 percent and 3.41 percent.

Premiere Horizon Alliance also added 0.63 percent on relatively heavy volume.