The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) started the week in the red territory as investors fled the local bourse due to souring sentiment amid indications of another policy rate hike.
On Monday, the PSEi fell by 1.29 percent, or 86.56 points, to close at 6,599.34 while the wider All Shares index dropped by 1.12 percent, or 39.95 points, to settle at 3,532.25.
Claire Alviar, Philstocks Financial Inc. assistant manager for research and online engagement, said investors sold off their positions as the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) indicated it could increase the key rate by another 25 basis points this March.
“Last Friday, stocks in the US fell sharply amid [the] hawkish stance of the Federal Reserve given … strong economic data,” she said, adding: “In Asia, most stocks were also in the red following the worst week for 2023 in Wall Street.”
Save for financials
All sectors were down except for financials, which rose by 0.27 percent. The service index had the steepest fall with 3.46 percent, followed by mining and oil with a 3.2-percent drop.
About 893.23 million shares amounting to P7.5 billion were traded. Decliners led advancers, 149 to 55, while 34 issues were unchanged.
Shares of Globe Telecom—the most actively traded—plunged by 2.55 percent to P1,871 each.
It was followed by BDO Unibank Inc., up 0.08 percent to P124.10, after announcing a record-high net income in 2022.