Risk-sensitive investors pull down PH shares

MANILA  -The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) continued to struggle on Thursday as investors stayed risk averse amid the absence of fresh market leads.

By the closing bell, the PSEi sank 0.78 percent, or 49.11 points, to 6,219.16 while the broader All Shares index was down 0.58 percent, or 19.61 points, to 3,365.79.

“Local shares were sold down on the back of rising Treasury yields, and as investors braced for more [third quarter 2023] earnings,” Luis Gerardo Limlingan, head of sales at stock brokerage house Regina Capital Development, said in a note to investors on Thursday.

Bank of the Philippine Islands kicked off the corporate earnings season after reporting a 26.4-percent spike in profits during the January to September period to P38.6 billion.

READ:  BPI’s 9-month profit hits record P38.6B

A total of 575.68 million shares valued at P4.24 billion changed hands while net foreign selling hit P524.6 million, data from the stock exchange showed.

Most subsectors slumped during the session with financials (-1.58 percent) and services (-1.35 percent) leading the underperformers. Property, the sole gainer, added 0.14 percent.

BDO Unibank Inc. was the most actively traded stock as it shed 2.31 percent to P131.30 per share.

It was followed by SM Investments Corp., down 1.43 percent to P220.80; SM Investments Corp., up 0.92 percent to P820; and Semirara Mining and Power Corp., down 0.14 percent to P35.10.