PSEi continues fall, tracks Wall Street decline

PHILIPPINE SHARES dropped further on Tuesday as profit taking continued, tracking Wall Street’s decline amid the lack of fresh leads.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) declined by 0.44% or 30.82 points to close at 6,860.67 on Tuesday, while the broader all shares fell by 0.48% or 17.40 points to end at 3,583.09.

“The local market extended its decline this Tuesday by 0.44% to 6,860.67 as investors continued to take profits amid the lack of a fresh positive catalyst on the local economy’s outlook,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Senior Research Analyst Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message.

“The local bourse also took cues from Wall Street’s overnight decline wherein investors took a cautious stance while waiting for upcoming US economic data, including the January personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index,” he added.

US stocks ended with modest losses on Monday, as the focus shifted after last week’s AI-fueled rally to upcoming economic data that could affect the timing of the US Federal Reserve’s expected interest rate cut, Reuters reported.

The release of January’s PCE price index — the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge — on Thursday could dampen the recent enthusiasm should the data indicate price pressures are not cooling fast enough.

Markets have all but ruled out a cut at the Fed’s March meeting and have recently pushed back expectations for easing to June from May, CME’s FedWatch tool showed, on the heels of surprisingly strong consumer and producer price data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 62.30 points or 0.16% to 39,069.23. The S&P 500 lost 19.27 points or 0.38% at 5,069.53, and the Nasdaq Composite lost 20.57 points or 0.13% at 15,976.25.

“Investors are also keeping to cash as they assess the release of more local earnings,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message.

“Philippine shares continued to be sold down following the sentiment in the US, as the market halted its prior rallies, with investors waiting for more inflation related data,” he added.

Majority of sectoral indices closed lower on Tuesday. Mining and oil declined by 1.91% or 167.09 points to 8,551.89; property retreated by 1.27% or 37.24 points to 2,877.25; financials went down by 1.15% or 23.21 points to 1,980.88; and holding firms decreased by 0.48% or 31.40 points to 6,442.50.

On the other hand, services rose by 1.12% or 19.45 points to 1,755.91, and industrials increased by 0.04% or 4.24 points to 9,274.08.

Value turnover rose to P5.66 billion on Tuesday with 577.04 million issues changing hands from the P4.24 billion with 677.01 million shares traded the prior day.

Decliners outnumbered advancers, 112 versus 63, while 49 names closed unchanged.

Net foreign buying rose to P77.08 million on Tuesday from P39.51 million on Monday. — R.M.D. Ochave with Reuters