Shares tumble on Manila Bay reclamation jitters

MANILA  -The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell under 6,400 level on Monday as Manila Bay reclamation woes weighed on the property sector.

The PSEi lost 1.2 percent, or 76.72 points, to 6,329.19 while the broader All Shares index slumped 0.94 percent, or 32.3 percent, to close at 3,397.89.

Property stocks dropped 2.13 percent after Sen. JV Ejercito urged the Senate to probe reclamation projects around Manila Bay. Property giant SM Prime Holdings sank 4 percent on Monday.

“The PSEi also declined after recent hawkish signals locally and in the US recently; local signals warning about a sudden reversal in monetary policy, hinting no rate cut for the rest of 2023, instead hinted of a possible pause or rate hike depending on economic data,” Michael Ricafort, chief economist at the Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said in a note to investors on Monday.

Holding firms also lost 1.58 percent, followed by services (-1.3 percent), financials (0.47 percent), and industrial (-0.24 percent) counters. Mining and oil rose 0.6 percent.

Meanwhile, stock exchange data showed a total of 716.2 million shares valued at P4.6 billion that changed hands while foreigners were net sellers to the tune of P361 million.

SM Prime Holdings was the top traded stock as it lost 4.29 percent to P30.15 per share.

It was followed by Ayala Land Inc., flat at P29.05; ACEN Corp., up 0.78 percent to P5.15; Semirara Mining and Corp., up 3.33 percent to P31; and Bank of the Philippine Islands, up 0.09 percent to P113.90 per share.Ayala Corp. was down 1.82 percent to 593; BDO Unibank Inc., down 1.18 percent to P141.80; SM Investments Corp., down 1.76 percent to P867; Metro Pacific Investments Corp., up 1 percent to P5.05 and JG Summit Holdings Inc., down 0.13 percent to P38.95 per share.

Overall, there were 118 losers against 45 advancers while 53 companies closed unchanged, data from the stock exchange showed. INQ