Inflation spooks equity mart investors

Philippine shares declined after the government on Friday announced that July inflation accelerated further to 6.4 percent.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) sank 1.2 percent, or 77.61 points, to 6,405.50 while the broader All Shares index shed 0.86 percent, or 29.70 points, to 3,432.06.

Trading volume rose as 712.87 million shares valued at P12.71 billion changed hands.

National Statistician Dennis Mapa attributed the higher inflation to faster increases in prices of meat and fish, gasoline and transport, and electricity.

“Locally, July [consumer price index] edged higher but showed some signs of deceleration compared to the previous month, with the latest print at 6.4 percent,” Luis Gerardo Limlingan, head of sales at stock brokerage house Regina Capital Development, said in a note to investors on Friday.

All PSE subsectors closed lower, led by the property sector’s 1.73 percent decline on concerns that aggressive monetary tightening to curb inflation would hurt demand.

Security Bank Corp. was the top traded stock on Friday as it dropped 0.12 percent to P82 per share.

It was followed by Semirara Mining and Power Corp., up 0.24 percent to P41; Ayala Corp., up 0.65 percent to P697; BDO Unibank Inc., down 1.52 percent to P116.90; SM Investments Corp., down 1.52 percent to P780 per share.

Converge ICT Solutions Inc. rose 0.3 percent to P20; Acen Corp., up 1.72 percent to P8.86; Monde Nissin Corp., up 1.94 percent to P15.80; International Container Terminal Services Inc., down 1.76 percent to P184.60; Ayala Land Inc., down 0.38 percent to P25.90 per share.

Overall, there were 108 decliners against 66 advances while 49 companies closed unchanged, PSE data showed.