PSEi slumps to 7,700 level

The local stock barometer slumped to the 7,700 level on Thursday as the collapse of the closely watched US-North Korean summit spooked regional markets.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 183.63 points or 2.33 percent to close at 7,705.49.

As recent changes on the weights of the closely tracked MSCI index took effect, all counters ended lower, led by the financial counter that slid by 3 percent.

The industrial, holding firm and mining/oil counters all declined by over 2 percent, while the services counter slipped by 1.78 percent. The property counter declined by 0.91 percent.

Value turnover for the day was heavy at P17.58 billion, including a P4.94-billion block sale on PAL, which marked the consummation of a buy-in deal involving ANA of Japan. This resulted in a net foreign buying of P3.72 billion for the day.

There were 142 decliners that edged out 56 advancers while 43 stocks were unchanged.

The PSEi was weighed down most by Bloomberry, which fell by 7.62 percent.

Bloomberry’s gaming subsidiary Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels Inc. (BRHI) is one of the 17 Philippine companies and individuals included as defendants in the lawsuit filed by Bangladesh Bank against Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. in connection with the 2016 cyberheist that slipped into the country through RCBC’s Jupiter branch and disappeared in local casinos.

URC tumbled by 6.2 percent while BDO lost 4.42 percent.

Meralco and MPI both declined by over 3 percent.

ICTSI, the day’s most actively traded company, lost 2.77 percent while SM Investments, JG Summit, BPI and AGI all declined by over 2 percent.

Ayala Land, Metrobank, Ayala Corp. and PLDT all went down by over 1 percent, while SM Prime and Jollibee also slipped slightly.

Notable decliners outside the PSEi included Vista Land, which lost 1.33 percent.