PH stocks down on rate hike fears

Stocks fell sharply on Wednesday—mirroring stocks across region—as investors in the country and abroad worried about a possible interest rate increase in the United States.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) was down 1.68 percent, or 129.8 points, to 7,598.70 while the broader all-shares index was also down 1.56 percent, or 69.20 points, to 4,367.19.

“The jitters are coming from fund managers, especially foreign ones, which are continuing to sell on reports of a possible US rate hike,” Astro del Castillo, First Grade Finance Inc. managing director, said in an interview.

Data from the PSE showed that net foreign selling amounted to P1.27 billion Wednesday.

Del Castillo said investors were also adjusting their positions ahead of the release of first-quarter growth on Thursday. He said the market could move higher should first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) come in higher than expected.

Data from the PSE, meanwhile, showed all sub-indices declining,  led by mining and oil, which sank 3.17 percent. Other big losers were industrial stocks, down 2.78 percent, and financials, down 2.04 percent.–Miguel R. Camus