Blue chips dip after poking thru 7,000 mark
A security guard stands beside a logo of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines) posted at the main gate in Manila, Philippines April 28, 2016. REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco/File photo
MANILA — Philippine shares slipped on Tuesday just hours after shattering the 7,000 barrier earlier in the day as investors weighed in the higher local inflation rate prediction of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
By the closing bell, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) slightly dipped by 0.28 percent, or 19.38 points, to 6,960.43. This comes from an intraday high of 7,070.72. The broader All Shares Index, meanwhile, declined by 0.27 percent, or 9.69 points, to 3,626.71.
A total of 715.06 million shares valued at P6.53 billion changed hands, while foreigners made net purchases of P776.97 million, stock exchange data showed.
Mikhail Plopenio, researcher at Philstocks Financial Inc., said traders may “have priced in the likelihood that March inflation has accelerated.”
Prices rise
The BSP on Monday said the high prices of rice, meat and oil may have caused March inflation to settle within 3.4 to 4.2 percent, which is higher than the government’s 2 to 4 percent target range. Inflation in February was at 3.4 percent.
READ: BSP pegs March inflation at hotter 3.4-4.2%
Banks lost the most (1.07 percent) on Tuesday as BDO Unibank Inc. and Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), two of the country’s largest banking companies, declined.
International Container Terminal Services Inc. was the top-traded stock as it gained by 4.06 percent to P333 per share.
It was followed by BDO, which declined by 3.14 percent to P154 per share; Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., up 2.72 percent to P68; SM Investments Corp., up 0.1 percent to P991; and SM Prime Holdings Inc., up 0.45 percent to P33.15 per share.
BPI also went down by 0.93 percent to P117 per share, followed by Monde Nissin Corp., which rallied by 5.82 percent to P11.28; Jollibee Foods Corp., down 0.56 percent to P247.20; Ayala Land Inc., down 0.75 percent to P33; and DMCI Holdings Inc., up 3.28 percent to P12.60 per share.
Overall, there were 88 advancers against 105 losers, while 45 companies were unchanged, stock exchange data also showed. INQ
