PH shares tumble as new rate adjustments draw near

Local stocks were battered at the start of an event-filled week ahead of expected interest rate hike announcements in the Philippines and the United States.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index extended losses by another 1.7 percent, or 111.35 points, to 6,437.42 while the broader All Shares index fell 1.39 percent, or 48.41 points, to 3,426.

The US Federal Reserve and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas are holding separate rate-setting meetings this week, with market pundits forecasting the continuation of aggressive monetary tightening to slow the pace of consumer price increases that have prevailed for most of 2022.

Philippine inflation saw an annual 6.3-percent increase in August, slower than the previous month’s annual rate of 6.4. However, economists had warned that high domestic prices would persist through early 2023.

A total of 660.6 million shares valued at P4.98 billion changed hands while foreign net selling reached P286.6 million.

All PSE subsectors, led by the holding firms and services, dropped.

SM Investments Corp. was the most actively traded stock as it tumbled 4.13 percent to P835 per share.

It was followed by San Miguel Corp., up 3.63 percent to P98.45; SM Prime Holdings Inc., down 1.54 percent to P35.20; BDO Unibank Inc., up 0.08 percent to P120.50; and Ayala Land Inc., down 1.93 percent to P28 per share.

Universal Robina Corp. was down 2.05 percent to P119.30; International Container Terminal Services Inc., flat at P182; Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corp., down 6.9 percent to P1.35; PLDT Inc., down 5.14 percent to P1,660; and Ayala Corp., down 3.9 percent to P703 per share.

Overall, there were 132 losers against 51 advancers while 51 companies closed unchanged, data from the PSE showed. INQ