Sharp selloff plunges PSEi by 120 points

MANILA  -The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell by more than 100 points on Thursday on heavy domestic and foreign selling.

The PSEi lost 1.91 percent, or 120.04 points, to 6,175.25 while the broader All Shares index retreated 1.4 percent, or 47.41 points, to 3,334.78.

“The index retreated below the 6,200 level after the market succumbed to heavy month-end selling by institutional investors as part of window dressing,” Juan Paolo Colet, managing director at investment bank China Bank Capital Corp., said on Thursday.

“Traders also opted to take profits or cut losses ahead of US employment data to be released on Friday,” he added.

A total of 1.36 billion shares valued at P9.75 billion changed hands while foreigners were net sellers of an amount worth nearly P2 billion.

“News flows further soured sentiment after reports of lower Philippine domestic trade and the fifth straight month of contraction in Chinese manufacturing activity,” Colet said.

Mining and oil (+0.01 percent) was the sole gainer while losing subsectors were led by property (-3.48 percent) and services (-2.07 percent).

Ayala Corp. was the top-traded stock as it closed flat at P616 per share.

It was followed by SM Prime Holdings Inc., down 3.15 percent to P29.20; Ayala Land Inc., down 5.40 percent to P27.15; BDO Unibank Inc., down 2.59 percent to P139.30; and Bank of the Philippine Islands, up 1.95 percent to P110 per share.

PLDT Inc. was down 4.14 percent to P1,150; SM Investments Corp., down 1.30 percent to P833; International Container Terminal Services Inc., down 2.63 percent to P207.20; Universal Robina Corp., down 6.13 percent to P111.70; and RL Commercial REIT Inc., down 7.78 percent to P4.86 per share.

Overall, there were 104 losers against 71 advancers while 47 companies closed unchanged, data from the stock exchange showed.

READ: Asian markets lower after Japanese factory activity, China services weaken