PH shares, peso slip as Fed stews over continued tightening

MANILA  -Philippine stocks dropped on Friday as investors weighed the hawkish stance of the US Federal Reserve while the peso showed signs of weakness.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) slumped 0.79 percent, or 52.66 points, to 6,625.26 while the broader All Shares index shed 0.57 percent, or 20.08 points, to 3,526.92.

Jonathan Ravelas, senior adviser at Reyes Tacandong & Co., said the US dollar was poised to bounce higher from a near-term support level. This also signaled potential downside risks for stock market investors.

“Expect a test of the P55/P55.25 levels in the near-term,” Ravelas said on Friday. He also expected the PSEi to hover between 6,500 and 6,700.

Trading volume on Friday cooled as 635.55 million shares valued at P2.91 billion changed hands while net foreign selling reached P107.9 million.

Mining and oil rose 0.22 percent while other subsectors pulled back. Losers were led by industrial (-1.30 percent), financials (-0.97 percent), services (-0.87 percent), holding firms (-0.45 percent), and property (-0.30 percent).

Ayala Land Inc. was the top traded stock as it rose 0.18 percent to P27.50 per share.

BDO Unibank Inc. sank 1.14 percent to P147; Bank of the Philippine Islands, down 0.78 percent to P115.10; SM Investments Corp., down 0.43 percent to P918; and International Container Terminal Services Inc., down 0.94 percent to P211 per share.

Jollibee Foods Corp. was down 2.70 percent to P252; ACEN Corp., down 3.96 percent to P5.33; Universal Robina Corp., down 1.66 percent to P124.50; and GT Capital Holdings Inc., down 0.09 percent to P540 per share.

Overall, there were 103 losers against 69 advancers while 54 companies closed unchanged, data from the stock exchange showed. INQ