Stocks still sliding on foreign selling

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) fell on Thursday as foreigners cut their holdings on prevailing pessimism over the United States-China trade war and poor economic data in the United States.

The PSEi dropped 0.86 percent, or 65.13 points, to 7,545.55 while the broader All-Shares index was down 0.68 percent, or 31.67 points, to 4,604.01.

Subsectors, however, ended mixed. Industrial companies and services were positive, gaining 0.82 percent and 0.65 percent, respectively.

Property firms fell the most with a 2.19-percent drop, followed by holding firms, down 1.27 percent. Financials declined 0.55 percent while mining and oil was down 0.09 percent.

Data from the PSE showed that foreigners were net sellers to the tune of P1.3 billion.

A total of 570.16 million shares valued at P8.3 billion changed hands on Thursday. There were 42 gainers against 141 losers while 58 companies closed unchanged.

Power firm First Gen Corp. was the most actively traded as it gained 0.47 percent to P108 a share. It was followed by SM Investments Corp., down 1.02 percent to P973; Ayala Land Inc., down 4.26 percent to P45; Ayala Corp., down 0.93 percent to P848, and International Container Terminal Services, up 4.42 percent to P120.60 a share. —MIGUEL R. CAMUS