PSEi sinks below 6,200

It was a sea of red on Wednesday as the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) sank below the 6,200 level in what an analysts described as a “breakdown” based on technical indicators.

The PSEi fell 1.8 percent to 6,155.34 while the broader all-shares index lost 1.61 percent to 3,763.68. There were 132 companies that closed in the red as against 34 advancers, while 39 companies were unchanged.

All sub-counters ended lower, led by property firms and financials, which were down 2.88 percent and 1.94 percent. Volume amounted to 2.04 billion shares valued at P9.8 billion, data from the PSE showed.

“I don’t think there was any trigger for the day. It was more of a technical breakdown,” April Lee-Tan, research head at COL Financial Group Inc., said in an interview.

She said the past few weeks were dominated by headlines on the damage of Supertyphoon “Yolanda,” one of the worst recorded storms in history, depressing stocks in the process. The slew of public offerings also helped siphon some liquidity, she noted.

Earnings, while in line with expectations, provided no positive surprises, she added.

She said the sell-off picked up after the PSEi breached the 6,200 level, a key technical barrier. She said the next level to be tested would be 6,100, then 5,900.

“For the long-term, we have not changed our views. We have a positive view on the markets and the current phase is an accumulation phase,” Tan said.

For those with a short-term horizon, range-trading would be the appropriate strategy, she said.—Miguel R. Camus