The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) hovered above the 6,000 level on Friday as investors stayed on the sidelines while new coronavirus cases continued to increase.
By the closing bell, the PSEi was down 0.43 percent or 25.75 points to 6,003.26. The broader all-shares index was down 0.2 percent or 7 points to 3,533.01.
The decline came following a drop on Wall Street overnight and as investors worried about the long-term economic impact of COVID-19. During a briefing on Friday, ING Bank Manila senior economist Nicholas Mapa warned of a longer “dirty-L recovery” for the Philippines.
Even then, some subsectors such as mining and oil, industrials and financials ended positive while the rest declined.
Investors, for the most part, stayed away from the market on Friday. Data from the PSE showed a total of 1.3 billion shares valued at just P2.94 billion changing hands. Decliners nearly matched gainers 93 to 91 while 46 companies closed unchanged.
Property giant SM Prime Holdings was the most actively traded on Friday as it closed flat at P30.50 a share.
It was followed by MerryMart Consumer Corp., up 7.31 percent to P2.35; Ayala Land Inc., down 3.85 percent to P32.50; SM Investments Corp., up 0.06 percent to P900.50; and BDO Unibank Inc., up 1.14 percent to P93.05 a share.
Other actively traded stocks were PLDT Inc., up 0.75 percent to P1,340; Nickel Asia Corp., up 4.65 percent to P2.25; International Container Terminal Services, down 1.02 percent to P97; JG Summit Holdings, down 1.52 percent to P65; and ABS-CBN Corp., down 26.25 percent to P7.64 per share.