Local shares decline for third straight day

MANILA  -The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell for the third consecutive day after taking cues from Wall Street, which took a hit as investors sold off their positions amid the ongoing US debt ceiling issue.

The benchmark PSEi slid by 0.72 percent, or 46.78 points, to close at 6,430.58 while the broader All-Shares index declined by 0.42 percent, or 14.45 points, to settle at 3,443.85.

“Philippine equities fell again as investors kept an eye on the debt ceiling debate in Washington,” Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said.

“Moreover, foreigners continued exiting the bourse, recording a net selling of P475.68 million, pulling down the market further,” Claire Alviar, Philstocks Financial Inc. assistant manager for research and online engagement, added.

Subsectors were mixed. Financials, services, and mining and oil indices rose while the rest dropped.

About 801.27 million shares valued at P5.41 billion were traded. Losers outpaced winners, 105-78, while 50 issues were unchanged.

BDO Unibank Inc.’s shares, the most actively traded, improved by 0.74 percent to P137.

This was followed by Ayala Corp., down by 2.27 percent to P645; SM Prime Holdings, down 0.61 percent to P32.50; Monde Nissin, down 1.48 percent to P7.98; Ayala Land Inc., down 1.71 percent to P25.85; and International Container Terminal Services Inc., up 3.08 percent to P201.

Other active names were SM Investments Corp., down 2.05 percent to P910; JG Summit, flat at P48; Globe Telecom, flat at P1,700; and PLDT Inc., up 0.75 percent to P1,209.

—Tyrone Jasper C. Piad
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