Rate jitters keep PSEi in doldrums

MANILA, Philippines — The local stock market extended its losing streak and neared the 6,300 level on Wednesday as anxiety over inflation and high interest rates gripped traders.

By the end of the session, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) fell by 1.38 percent, or 89.93 points, to close at 6,411.41. The broader All Shares Index likewise shed 0.95 percent, or 33 points, to 3,451.74.

A total of 685.45 million shares worth P5.41 billion changed hands, stock exchange data showed.

Luis Limlingan, head of sales at stock brokerage house Regina Capital Development Corp., said there was a heightened concern over inflation, with “cautious statements from policymakers” dampening overall sentiment.

READ: Asian shares decline after a mixed post-holiday session on Wall Street

All subsectors were in the red, with banks losing the most—down by 2.36 percent—as the share prices of three of the country’s top banks fell.

Most actively traded stocks

Ports tycoon Enrique Razon Jr.-led International Container Terminal Services Inc. was the most actively traded stock as it slipped by 2.66 percent to P329.60 each.

It was followed by BDO Unibank Inc., down 3.7 percent to P130.20; SM Investments Corp., down 0.17 percent to P870; Bank of the Philippine Islands, down 1.79 percent to P120.80; and SM Prime Holdings Inc., down 1.85 percent to P26.55 each.

Ayala Land Inc. also went down by 1.11 percent to P26.80; Ayala Corp., up 0.16 percent to P615; Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., down 3.32 percent to P67; PLDT Inc., down 0.71 percent to P1,400; and Aboitiz Equity Ventures, up 0.42 percent to P36.15 per share.

Losers edged out advancers, 127 to 70, while 40 companies closed unchanged.