Philippine stocks decline on last-minute selling

Philippine stocks ended lower on Monday on last-minute selling and as investors stayed on the sidelines amid a lack of fresh trading drivers.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dropped 0.65% or 41.75 points to close at 6,349.16, while the broader all shares index fell by 0.64% or 22.96 points to end at 3,561.47.

“The local index closed lower after late-session selling pressure,” Luis A. Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development Corp., said in a Viber message.

“The local bourse was trading higher prior to the last-minute block sale, as participation was slightly upbeat following the unchanged 4.4% unemployment print in December, signaling stability in the labor market despite the economic slowdown last fourth quarter,” AP Securities, Inc. said in a market note.

The PSEi opened Monday’s trading session at 6,402.71, higher than the Friday’s close of 6,390.91. It climbed to a high of 6,458.79 but ended at its intraday low.

PSE data showed that block sales involving 9.7 million shares valued at PHP 1.13 billion were executed on Monday.

“Investor sentiment was also dampened by forecasts of peso weakness amid ongoing global uncertainties. This prompted a more cautious stance toward local equities,” Mr. Limlingan added.

Fitch Solutions unit BMI said in a Feb. 6 note that it sees the peso trading at around the PHP 59 level against the dollar this year as an expected slowdown in exports due to higher tariffs could put pressure on the Philippines’ external position.

However, it expects the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to prevent the peso from weakening past the PHP 60 level to curb price risks.

Most sectoral indices closed in the green on Monday. Mining and oil surged by 4.71% or 801.61 points to 17,807.67; holding firms increased by 1.05% or 53.70 points to 5,122.89; industrials went up by 0.35% or 31.81 points to 9,099.23; and property climbed by 0.18% or 4.15 points to 2,204.78.

Meanwhile, services fell by 2.98% or 79.35 points to 2,575.93, and financials went down by 0.45% or 9.70 points to 2,128.13.

Advancers outnumbered decliners, 100 to 95, while 69 names closed unchanged.

Value turnover rose to PHP 6.75 billion on Monday with 807.04 million shares traded from the PHP 6.27 billion with 605.04 million issues that changed hands on Friday.

Net foreign buying decreased to PHP 25.95 million from PHP 553.15 million in the previous session.

Meanwhile, Asian markets jumped on Monday as a resounding win for Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi whetted appetites for more reflationary policies, Reuters reported.

Japan’s Nikkei headlined the gains with a rise of 3.9%, hitting all-time highs as the government’s decisive majority clears the way for more spending and tax cuts.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 2.4%, while South Korea’s tech-heavy index climbed 4.1%. — A.G.C. Magno with Reuters