Philippine stocks slump anew

Photo taken from pse.com.ph

MANILA, Philippines—Most local stocks slumped for a third session on Thursday, dragging the main index below 5,300, after a weak China factory output indicator dampened sentiment across the region.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange shed 22.06 points, or 0.41 percent, to close at 5,294.97. Elsewhere across the region, trading was muted by reports that China’s purchasing managers index (PMI) for September stood at 47.8 from the 47.6 seen in August.

At the local market, value turnover amounted to P4.78 billion. There were 58 advancers against 92 decliners while 44 stocks were unchanged.

The index was led lower by ALI and Megaworld. On the other hand, the day’s decline was tempered by the gains of URC and AGI.

In its daily commentary, Metrobank said the domestic bourse was still expected to move sideways while awaiting firmer trading leads. It noted that Wall Street managed to eke out gains due to encouraging US housing market data.