PSEi dips anew as focus shifts to US economy

MANILA, Philippines  —The benchmark index closed lower for the week led by large cap firms as risk aversion persisted.

By the closing bell on Friday, the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) shed 0.11 percent, or 7.33 points, to 6,503.54 while the broader All Shares index rose 0.02 percent, or 0.57 points, to 3,451.78.

A total of 301.38 million shares valued at P6.2 billion changed hands as foreigners offloaded a net P802.4 million worth of stocks.

Luis Gerardo Limlingan, head of sales at stock brokerage house Regina Capital Development, said market participants were mainly focused on overseas developments on Friday.

“Traders will watch out for December’s existing home sales reading, a reflection on the current state of the US housing market. Preliminary consumer sentiment data is also due Friday,” he said.

READ: US weekly jobless claims at 16-month low; homebuilding eases

PSE subsectors were mixed. Services, financials and holding firms slumped while property, industrial and mining and oil climbed.

International Container Terminal Services Inc. was the top traded stock on Friday as it sank 3.47 percent to P239.20 per share.

It was followed by Ayala Land Inc., up 2.54 percent to P32.35; BDO Unibank Inc., up 0.74 percent to P136.80; Cosco Capital Inc., down 1.23 percent to P4.80; and Bank of the Philippine Islands, down 3.28 percent to P106.20 per share.

Overall, there were 106 winners against 65 losers while 59 companies closed unchanged, data from the stock exchange showed.