Stocks stumble anew as Delta peril remains

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) lost ground on Wednesday as Asian markets retreated and investors worried about the pace of recovery amid the spread of the more contagious Delta variant.

The PSEi closed the session lower by 0.71 percent, or 49.43 points, to 6,943 while the broader all-shares index was down 0.62 percent, or 26.50 points, to 4,272.16.

The PSEi moved in lockstep with Asian indices and followed mixed results in Wall Street overnight.

Apart from the pandemic, inflationary pressures and the subsequent easing of stimulus spending were also viewed as risks.

PSE subsectors all ended in negative territory during the session, led by services, down 1.29 percent, and mining and oil, down 0.98 percent.

Volume was relatively low with 1.7 billion shares valued at P4.46 billion changing hands. There were 127 losers versus 59 gainers, while 57 companies closed unchanged.

AC Energy Corp. was the most actively traded during the session as it slipped lower by 0.34 percent to P8.67 per share.

It was followed by International Container Terminal Services Inc., down 0.55 percent to P164; Metro Pacific Investments Corp., down 1.28 percent to P3.87; BDO Unibank Inc., down 0.09 percent to P114.50 and Ayala Corp., down 1.66 percent to P798 per share. —MIGUEL R. CAMUS