The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) slid lower on Friday amid thin trading volume and as sentiments were weighed down by declines across the region.
The PSEi lost 0.33 percent, or 26.17 points, to 7,868.28 as the broader all-shares index declined 0.23 percent, or 11.31 points, to 4,856.35.
Most subsectors ended in the red, with the financials subindex the only gainer with a 0.18 percent increase. The biggest losers were property, down 0.67 percent; industrial, down 0.42 percent; and holding firms, down 0.25 percent.
Total volume on Friday hit 2.45 billion shares valued at P5.72 billion, data from the PSE showed. There were 94 gainers against 81 decliners, while 61 companies closed unchanged.
Ayala Land Inc. was the most actively traded on Friday as it lost 2.02 percent to P48.50 per share. It was followed by Bank of the Philippine Islands, up 2.39 percent to P83.45; BDO Unibank Inc., unchanged at P134; Ayala Corp., up 1.13 percent to P895; and Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., down 1.43 percent to P75.75 per share.
Other actively traded companies were SM Prime Holdings Inc., up 0.25 percent to P40.90; International Container Terminal Services Inc., up 0.97 percent to P125.20; Puregold Price Club Inc., down 0.91 percent to P43.60; SM Investments Corp., down 2 percent to P931; and Megaworld Corp., down 0.72 percent to P5.55 per share.
Asian markets mostly fell on Friday with investors treading carefully as global slowdown worries return to the fore, with analysts pointing to an economic divergence between the United States and the rest of the world.
Traders are watching for US growth data and China-US trade talks next week in Beijing. —WITH REPORTS FROM AP AND AFP