PSEi dips on foreign selling

The local stock barometer dipped on Tuesday as foreign funds continued to flow out of the domestic market amid economic uncertainties during this prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 13.82 points or 0.23 percent to close at 5,923.23, bucking the upswing across the US and regional markets.

“The PSEi ended slightly lower as the sentiment on blue chips remained cautious. Investors are watching the economic recovery very closely and signs of a plateau are becoming more evident. Mobility restrictions and lack of fiscal stimulus are the leading causes of the plateau,” said Christopher Mangun, head of research at AAA Equities.

“In the meantime, investors will continue to look for opportunities in the second-liners and speculative issues. The improvement in the sentiment on markets abroad have failed to excite investors in our market. Foreign outflows continue as returns are more attractive in other markets,” he said.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P5 billion. There was P702.06 million worth of net foreign selling.

The mining/oil counter slid by 2.98 percent while the financials and holding firm counters slipped by less than 1 percent.

On the other hand, the industrial, services and property firms all firmed up.

Despite the PSEi’s decline, there were 98 advancers that outnumbered 95 decliners as investors scouted for trading opportunities outside the PSEi. The stock prices of the rest of 59 companies were unchanged. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA INQ