Bearish peso spoils investors’ appetite for equities
The weak peso continued to weigh down investor sentiment, with the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) falling below the 6,700 territory on Monday.
The benchmark PSEi dropped by 1.28 percent, or 86.03 points, to end at 6,618.38 while the broader All-Shares Index slipped 1.29 percent, or 46.02 points, to land on 3,531.91 by the closing bell.
“Negative sentiment spilled over as concerns over peso depreciation heightened amid the hawkish tone of the Federal Reserve,” said Claire Alviar, Philstocks Financial, Inc. assistant manager for research and online engagement.
“Back home, profit-takers continued to emerge, sending the PSEi to retreat to the 6,600 level after staying in the overbought region last week,” Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan added.
All sectors settled in the red. Mining and oil and property indices saw the steepest declines at 2.89 percent and 1.84 percent, respectively.
About 972.68 million shares amounting to P5.67 billion were traded. Decliners led advancers, 151-37, while 40 issues were unchanged.
SM Prime Holdings’ shares, the most actively traded, slid 0.96 percent to P36.20 each.
This was followed by: Ayala Land Inc., down 3.63 percent to P27.85; International Container Terminal Services Inc., down 0.32 percent to P184.20; Security Bank, down 0.39 percent to P88.50; Emperador Inc., down 3.72 percent to P20.70; and Puregold Price Club Inc., down 2.38 percent to P34.90.
Other active names were: PLDT Inc., down 1.98 percent to P1,734; Converge ICT Solutions, down 2.08 percent to P18.80; BDO Unibank, down 1.19 percent to P125; and Ayala Corp., down 2.31 percent to P719.50.
