Shares dip on Wall Street’s slide, hawkish views

PHILIPPINE stocks closed lower on Thursday to track Wall Street’s performance overnight and after the local central bank chief said rates might stay “higher for longer.”

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) declined by 51.52 points or 0.79% to end at 6,469.23 on Thursday, while the broader all shares index shed 30.15 points or 0.88% to close at 3,404.26.

Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research and Engagement Officer Mikhail Philippe Q. Plopenio said that stock market investors took cues from Wall Street’s overnight performance wherein profit taking took place.

Mr. Plopenio added that the hawkish statements from Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli M. Remolona, Jr. also weighed on the sentiment.

Mr. Remolona earlier told reporters that the BSP was unlikely to cut rates in the next few months and would consider a reduction only if inflation settles at the midpoint of the 2-4% target.

The BSP last week kept its policy rate steady at a 16-year high of 6.5% for a second straight meeting. The central bank raised borrowing costs by a cumulative 450 basis points from May 2022 to October 2023 to tame inflation.

China Bank Securities Corp. Research Director Rastine Mackie D. Mercado said the index declined as “continued profit-taking underpinned selling pressure.”

“This was likely exacerbated by the overnight sell-off in offshore markets given extremely overbought levels. Fortunately, a surge of market-on-close buying led to pared losses for the day. This may indicate underlying investor interest to participate in the market given the pullback,” Mr. Mercado said.

Almost all sectoral indices dropped on Thursday, except for financials, which climbed by 12.05 points or 0.69% to 1,738.26.

Meanwhile, property went down by 47.44 points or 1.64% to 2,834.78; services lost 21.37 points or 1.33% to 1,578.72; industrials decreased by 75.97 points or 0.85% to 8,769.10; holding firms sank by 52.73 points or 0.82% to 6,341.40; and mining and oil declined by 50.78 points or 0.53% to 9,518.11.

Value turnover went up to PHP 8.61 billion on Thursday with 2 billion issues changing hands from the PHP 6.32 billion with 1.15 million shares on Wednesday.

Decliners outnumbered advancers, 121 against 71, while 46 names ended unchanged.

Net foreign selling stood at P1.81 billion on Thursday from the net foreign buying at PHP 166.8 million on Wednesday. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera