PSEi tumbles as US Fed lobs another jumbo rate hike

A trader walks in front of the logo of the Philippine Stock Exchange (File photo by JAY DIRECTO / AFP)

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) erased gains from the previous session while commodities rallied amid hawkish comments by US Federal Reserve (US Fed) Chair Jerome Powell after delivering an expected rate increase overnight.

The PSEi ended the session lower by 0.81 percent, or 50.13 points, to 6,156.11 while the broader All Shares index sank 0.59 percent, or 19.18 points, to 3,257.83.

The influential US Fed raised interest rates by 75 basis points, prompting a statement from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla that they would match the latest policy move in the Philippine Monetary Board’s Nov. 17 meeting.

Powell dashed hopes of a Fed pivot from the current monetary tightening cycle as he said on Wednesday it was “very premature to be thinking about pausing,” signaling that more rate hikes were on the way.

PSE subsectors were mostly lower save for mining and oil, up 1.96 percent, and services, up 1.27 percent.

Holding firms fell 1.73 percent, followed by industrial, down 1.03 percent; property, down 0.76 percent; and financials, down 0.57 percent.

Data from the stock exchange showed a total of 430.74 million shares valued at P4.45 billion changing hands.

International Container Terminal Services Inc. was the top traded stock as it jumped 5.85 percent to P172 per share.

It was followed by BDO Unibank Inc., down 1.86 percent to P126.80; SM Prime Holdings Inc., flat at P32.30; and Ayala Land Inc., down 2.02 percent to P26.65 per share.

Overall, there were 114 losers against 61 advancers while 37 companies closed unchanged. —Miguel R. Camus