Philippine stocks decline before earnings season

Philippine shares fell on Monday as investors turned cautious ahead of the earnings season, with traders weighing local economic concerns and overseas market developments.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) slipped by 0.09% or 5.46 points to close at 6,084.07, while the broader all-share index shed 0.08% or 3.16 points to 3,661.92.

“The PSEi edged lower as the market remained cautious ahead of the earnings season,” Luis A. Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development Corp., said in a Viber message.

Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Manager Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said the local bourse traded sideways throughout the day before a late round of profit taking.

“Investors remain cautious while weighing bargain opportunities against downside risks to local economic prospects, including corruption issues and offshore headwinds,” he said in a Viber message.

Investor sentiment was also dampened by concerns over public confidence in government institutions. A survey by Publicus Asia, Inc. showed that trust and approval ratings across key agencies fell sharply in the third quarter after reports of irregularities in flood-control projects.

The Department of Public Works and Highways posted the steepest decline, while the Senate and House of Representatives also had weaker results.

Mr. Limlingan said Wall Street’s rebound on Friday offered some relief after upbeat results from US regional banks and former President Donald J. Trump’s remarks on possible tariff cuts with China helped ease credit and trade worries.

“Early in the trading day, some buying pressure emerged as uncertainty from the US eased after President Trump signaled a possible tariff cut,” he said.

All three major US stock indexes — the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite — closed higher, notching weekly gains as investors assessed trade developments and awaited delayed US inflation data, Reuters reported.

Back in Manila, most local sectoral indexes fell. Mining and oil dropped 2.54% or 379.05 points to 14,542.46; services shed 0.61% or 14.1 points to 2,299.08; financials slipped 0.55% or 11.48 points to 2,046.31; and holding firms lost 0.11% or 5.6 points to 4,905.45.

On the other hand, property gained 0.55% or 12.37 points to 2,260.04, while industrials rose 0.27% or 24.53 points to 8,930.58.

Value turnover reached PHP 3.65 billion with 1.86 billion shares traded, lower than Friday’s PHP 4.42 billion with 1.52 billion shares changing hands. Losers beat winners 122 to 75, while 50 stocks were unchanged.

ACEN Corp. was the day’s top index gainer, climbing 3.78% to PHP 2.47, while Puregold Price Club, Inc. led losers with a 5.06% drop to PHP 37.50.

Net foreign selling eased to PHP 118.81 million from PHP 225.83 million on Friday. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno