US debt ceiling anxiety hobbles Philippine equities

MANILA  -The ongoing debate over the US debt ceiling—the amount of money the American government is allowed to borrow—soured investor sentiment, pushing the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) in the red for the second consecutive trading day.

The benchmark PSEi fell by 0.26 percent, or 17.27 points, to close at 6,603.56 while the wider All-Shares index slipped 0.19 percent, or 6.61 points, to end at 3,527.42.

“The local bourse dropped as concerns over the US debt ceiling continued to weigh on sentiment,” Claire Alviar, Philstocks Financial Inc. assistant manager for research and online engagement, said.

“The meeting regarding the debt ceiling was said to be ‘productive,’ however, it ended without a deal yet, causing concerns among investors,” she added.

Alviar said investors would remain on the lookout for developments on the issue.

All the sectors were in the red, except for property that climbed by 0.40 percent. Industrial index had the most losses with 0.64-percent decline.

The shares of BDO Unibank Inc., the most actively traded, dropped by 0.79 percent to P137.90 each.

This was followed by SM Prime Holdings, up by 1.47 percent to P34.50 after listing its over P30-billion bond offering; Ayala Land Inc., down 1.51 percent to P26.10; SM Investments Inc., down 0.43 percent to P920; Ayala Corp., down 1.52 percent to P681.50; and GT Capital, up 2.37 percent to P519.

Other active names were Bank of the Philippine Islands, up 0.10 percent to P103; Jollibee Foods Corp., down 1.12 percent to P229; 8990 Holdings, down 0.11 percent to P9.33; and Monde Nissin Corp., down 0.70 percent to P8.54.

—Tyrone Jasper C. Piad INQ