PH stocks slip below 8,000

The local stock barometer slipped below the 8,000 mark on Thursday as jitters over the latest US Federal Reserve minutes pulled down regional markets.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell by 52.73 points, or 0.66 percent, to close at 7,955.80.

Based on the recently released minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in March, most officials still expect to leave the key policy rate unchanged for the rest of the year.

However, several Fed officials also said that they might feel differently, depending on the data that would come out.

At the local market, some investors thus chose to pocket gains after the three-day run-up that brought the PSEi back to the 8,000 mark on Wednesday. However, there was net foreign buying worth P1.12 billion.

The index was weighed down most by holding firms, which tumbled by 1.76 percent, while the industrial and services counters also fell.

On the other hand, the mining/oil counter gained by 1.81 percent, while the financial and property counters eked out slight gains.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P7.29 billion.

The PSEi was weighed down most by AGI, which fell by 3.3 percent, while URC and GT Capital  both lost over 1 percent.

Metrobank, ICTSI, Ayala Corp., Jollibee, Bloomberry, Metro Pacific and SM Prime also slipped.

On the other hand, Ayala Land—the day’s most actively traded company—rose by 3 percent. BPI added 1.58 percent while BDO  and DMCI also slightly gained.