Shares decline further ahead of US inflation data

PHILIPPINE SHARES continued to decline on Wednesday ahead of the release of March US consumer inflation data overnight.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) declined by 10.21 points or 0.15% to close at 6,469.42 on Wednesday, while the broader all shares index fell by 4.59 points or 0.13% to end at 3,475.27.

“The local bourse declined by 10.21 points (0.15%) to 6,469.42 amid dismal local economic data while waiting for the US inflation rate,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Analyst Claire T. Alviar said in a Viber message.

“At home, the drop in foreign direct investments (FDI) net inflow in January year on year, as well as the decline in imports and exports in February, which indicate a weakened demand both domestically and internationally, had a negative impact on investor sentiment,” Ms. Alviar said.

FDI net inflows declined by 45.7% to USD 448 million in January from USD 824 million in the same month last year, data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) released on Tuesday showed. This was the lowest monthly inflow since the USD 426 million recorded in May 2021.

Meanwhile, the country’s trade deficit narrowed to USD 3.88 billion in February from the USD 5.73 billion in January, preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority released on Tuesday showed.

“The local stock market gauge, the PSEi, again declined for the second straight day… partly taking cues from the overnight performance in the US stock markets, which were mixed,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

Wall Street stocks ended mixed on Tuesday, losing steam late in the session as investors awaited crucial inflation data and the unofficial kickoff of first-quarter reporting season, Reuters reported.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 98.27 points or 0.29% to 33,684.79; the S&P 500 lost 0.17 point to end at 4,108.94; and the Nasdaq Composite dropped by 52.48 points or 0.43% to 12,031.88.

On a monthly basis, analysts see the headline and core consumer price index cooling to 0.2% and 0.4%, respectively. But year on year, while consensus estimates call for a significant drop in the headline number to 5.2% from 6.0% the core measure is expected to rise to 5.6% from 5.5%.

Back home, sectoral indices were split on Wednesday. Holding firms declined by 39.28 points or 0.62% to 6,300.19; property fell by 13.41 points or 0.49% to 2,698.54; and industrials went down by 15.02 points or 0.16% to 9,262.06.

Meanwhile, mining and oil went up by 202.96 points or 1.89% to 10,905.98; financials rose by 7.29 points or 0.4% to 1,811.48; and services climbed by 3.11 points or 0.19% to close at 1,599.59.

Value turnover rose to PHP 7.22 billion on Wednesday with 1.01 billion shares changing hands from the PHP 5.37 billion with 1.22 billion issues traded on Tuesday.

Decliners and advancers were even at 88 each, while 57 names closed unchanged.

Net foreign buying increased to PHP 666.60 million on Wednesday from PHP 56.12 million on Tuesday. — A.H. Halili with Reuters