Faster inflation readout weighs down PH shares

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA – Philippine stocks slumped on Tuesday after new inflation data in February showed consumer prices rising faster, reinforcing expectations that interest rates would stay elevated for a longer period.

By the closing bell, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index shed 0.66 percent, or 46.21 points, to 6,905.46 while the broader All Shares index was up 0.41 percent, or 14.68 points, to 3,604.27.

“Philippine shares continued to succumb to profit taking, as the latest [consumer price index] ticked higher than many analysts’ forecasts,” Luis Gerardo Limlingan, head of sales at stock brokerage house Regina Capital Development, said on Tuesday.

READ: Stocks slide as China’s NPC underwhelms, bitcoin nears peak

“After five months of continued deceleration, the cost of goods finally climbed up to 3.4 percent in February driven by food, and transportation,” he added.

Financials and industrial stocks led most subsectors lower while holding firms and mining and oil rose. A total of 425.75 million shares valued at P5.37 billion changed hands while net foreign buying amounted to P308.84 million, data from the stock exchange showed.

SM Investments Corp. was the top traded stock as it added 2.99 percent to P963 per share.

Banks slide

It was followed by Bank of the Philippine Islands, down 3.08 percent to P116.30; BDO Unibank Inc., down 0.33 percent to P151.50; SM Prime Holdings Inc., down 0.15 percent to P33.15; and International Container Terminal Services Inc., down 1.53 percent to P295.40 per share.

Ayala Land Inc. was up 2.72 percent to P33.95; Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., down 2.04 percent to P62.40; Universal Robina Corp., down 1.91 percent to P112.80; Ayala Corp., down 0.36 percent to P684.50; and Bloomberry Resorts Corp., up 0.18 percent to P11.40 per share.

Overall, there were 113 losers against 77 advancers while 50 companies closed unchanged, data from the stock exchange showed. INQ