PH shares sold off sharply following Wall Street’s plunge
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) fell over 100 points on Friday after a major selloff in Wall Street overnight and ahead of the long weekend due to the May 9 presidential elections.
The PSEi dropped 1.59 percent, or 109.02, to 6,759.90 while the broader all-shares index lost 1.13 percent, or 41.46 points, to 3,621.70.
The benchmark measure followed US stocks lower as investors worried about the US Federal Reserve’s plans to raise rates further to combat consumer price increases. Earlier this week, the Fed raised rates by half a percent—its biggest hike in two decades.
The Philippines had been hit by similar inflationary pressures with the headline consumer price index rising to a three-year high of 4.9 percent last month.
Trading would be suspended on Monday due to the national and local elections. Recent opinion polls placed the late dictator’s son, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr., ahead of other candidates in the presidential race.
International Container Terminal Services Inc. and Globe Telecom helped push up the services subsector by 0.47 percent. All other subindices closed negative, led by property’s 2.82-percent decline.
A total of 653.64 million shares valued at P5.95 billion changed hands on Friday. Overall, there were 107 losers to 60 gainers while 61 companies closed unchanged.
SM Investments Corp. was the most actively traded on Friday as it tumbled 1.80 percent to P845.50 per share.
It was followed by Ayala Land Inc., down 0.15 percent to P32.50; International Container Terminal Services Inc., up 4.36 percent to P220.20; BDO Unibank Inc., down 0.78 percent to P128; and PLDT Inc., down 2.17 percent to P1,890 per share.
Other heavy movers were Ayala Corp., down 2.28 percent to P730; Converge ICT Solutions Inc., down 2.83 percent to P29.15; SM Prime Holdings Inc., down 4.86 percent to P35.20; Globe Telecom, up 3.18 percent to P2,464; and Bank of the Philippine Islands, down 2.68 percent to P94.40 per share.
