PSEi dips on growth worries, weak Wall Street cues

Philippine shares retreated on Tuesday as investors weighed slower economic growth projections, lingering corruption issues and negative cues from US markets.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) fell 0.38% or 22.46 points to 5,756.66, while the broader all-share index dropped 1.5% or 49.25 points to 3,231.55.

“The local market’s sideways movement ended in negative territory as it gave in to selling pressures,” Japhet Louis Tantiangco, research manager at Philstocks Financial, said via Viber. “Investors digested Finance Secretary-turned-Executive Secretary Ralph Recto’s projection for 2025 GDP (gross domestic product) growth of 4.7-4.8%.”

“The lingering corruption issues amid the latest developments also weighed on sentiment,” he added.

Profit taking after Monday’s sharp gains added to the decline, according to Luis Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development Corp.

“Investors turned cautious after locking in gains from the previous session’s strong run,” he said in a Viber message, noting that sentiment dropped somewhat after Mr. Recto’s growth comments.

Sector performance was mixed. Services slid 1.65% to 2,361.09, mining and oil fell 1.31% to 12,826.45 and industrials dropped 1.06% to 8,387.74.

In contrast, property rose 1.12% to 2,109.62, financials added 0.27% to 1,898.35 and holding firms inched up 0.02% to 4,483.45.

SM Prime Holdings led gainers, climbing 4.65% to PHP 21.40, while ACEN Corp. lagged, falling 5.69% to PHP 2.32, Mr. Tantiangco said.

The decline followed US market weakness. On Monday, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq closed below their 50-day moving averages for the first time since late April, as investors awaited corporate earnings — including Nvidia — and a delayed US job report. The Dow also slipped below its 50-day average for the first time since Oct. 10, Reuters reported.

Market breadth was negative, with losers outnumbering winners 94 to 74, while 60 stocks were unchanged.

Value turnover decreased slightly to PHP 6.67 billion on 1.15 billion shares traded, down from PHP 6.76 billion on 1.12 billion shares on Monday. Net foreign selling widened to PHP 1.31 billion from PHP 171.2 million, reflecting cautious sentiment among overseas investors. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno