Shares close lower as inflation picks up in Feb.

PHILIPPINE SHARES closed in the red on Tuesday due to data showing that headline inflation quickened in February.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index declined by 0.66% or 46.21 points to end at 6,905.46 on Tuesday, while the broader all shares index dropped by 0.4% or 14.68 points to close at 3,604.27.

“This Tuesday, the local market dropped by 46.21 points (-0.66%) to 6,905.46 as investors digested the inflation data for February… This also broke the four-month declining trend of inflation,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research and Engagement Officer Mikhail Philippe Q. Plopenio said in a Viber message.

“Philippine shares continued to succumb to profit taking, as the latest consumer price index ticked higher than many analysts’ forecasts,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan likewise said in a Viber message.

Headline inflation accelerated to 3.4% in February from 2.8% in January, the Philippine Statistics Authority reported on Tuesday. Still, the consumer price index (CPI) was slower than the 8.6% print in the same month a year ago.

Last month’s inflation print was above the 3% median estimate in a BusinessWorld poll of 16 analysts conducted last week, but was within the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 2.8-3.6% forecast for the month.

This also marked the first time that headline inflation picked up month on month since September 2023.

For the first two months, the CPI averaged 3.1%, within the BSP’s 2-4% annual target.

“Wall Street’s decline overnight spilled over to the bourse as well amid profit taking after the S&P 500 and Nasdaq reached record highs last week,” Mr. Plopenio added.

Wall Street stocks closed lower on Monday, backing away from record highs, while US Treasury yields ticked higher as investors looked ahead to key jobs data and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell’s congressional testimony later in the week, Reuters reported.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 97.55 points or 0.25% to 38,989.83; the S&P 500 lost 6.13 points or 0.12% to 5,130.95; and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 67.43 points or 0.41% to 16,207.51.

Back home, majority of the sectoral indices ended lower on Tuesday. Financials fell by 1.56% or 31.56 points to 1,990.60; industrials went down by 1.47% or 138.07 points to 9,195.60; property retreated by 1.08% or 31.69 points to 2,883.25; and services dropped by 0.89% or 15.98 points to 1,771.96.

On the other hand, holding firms rose by 0.96% or 62.83 points to 6,568.35, and mining and oil improved by 0.004% or 0.30 point to 8,547.26.

Value turnover dropped to P5.37 billion on Tuesday with 425.75 million issues switching hands from P5.64 billion with 530.17 million shares traded the prior day.

Decliners beat advancers, 113 against 77, while 50 issues closed unchanged.

Net foreign buying fell to P308.84 million on Tuesday from P799.61 million on Monday. — R.M.D. Ochave with Reuters