Share prices ended lower Tuesday with investors adjusting their portfolio in line with the latest rebalancing among regional indexes.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) was down 47.64 points to close at 6,774.68, a 0.7 percent drop.
The broader all shares index was down 26.16 points to 3,606.91, a 0.72 percent drop.
Losers edged gainers 113 to 71 with 76 stocks unchanged. Trading turnover reached P35.71 billion.
Luis Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital and Development Corp. said the market dropped while trading was heavy with investors adjusting their portfolio in line with the latest MSCI rebalancing.
“There were also just a few catalysts as the US stock market was closed due to the Memorial Day holiday,” he said.
Most actively traded Converge ICT Solutions Inc. was up P0.45 to P26.50. SM Prime Holdings Inc. was down P1.10 to P36.90. Ayala Land Inc. was steady at P29.60. Monde Nissin Corp. was down P1 to P14.80. Ayala Corp. was down P4 to P697. BDO Unibank Inc. was up P3.30 to P133.40. Globe Telecom Inc. was down P160 to P2,428. PLDT Inc. was down P61 to P1,900. Bank of the Philippine Islands was up P1.35 to P98.85. Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. was up P0.50 to P53.
Meanwhile, the peso echoed movements amongst its regional peers as it closed yesterday at 52.37 to the dollar, down from 52.31.
It opened at 52.40, hitting a high of 52.37 and a low of 52.435.
Trading turnover reached $925.62 million.
The Thai baht led losses for Asian currencies on Tuesday as US Treasury yields jumped and the dollar held firm after hawkish remarks from a US Federal Reserve Governor, while Chinese stocks bounced on fresh policy support measures, Reuters reported.
Investor reaction to China’s stimulus measures announced on Monday was short-lived, outweighed by Fed Governor Christopher Waller’s call for a half percentage point hike in interest rates until inflation is decisively curbed.
Waller’s remarks came ahead of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s meeting with the President Joe Biden later in the day to discuss the state of the economy.
US Treasury yields rose sharply to a one-week high as trading resumed after a US holiday.
With the greenback firm, Asian currencies lost ground. The baht declined as much as 0.5 percent and was the top underperformer in the region.
Poon Panichpibool, a markets strategist with Krung Thai Bank, said that the movement in the baht was due to factors like a firm dollar and some profit-taking from players who shorted the dollar-Thai baht pair earlier.
The rupiah, Singapore’s dollar and Philippine peso dropped 0.2 percent each, while Malaysia’s ringgit was down 0.3 percent.
The rupee was down 0.2 percent.
India’s benchmark 10-year bond yield touched a three-week high in early trade on Tuesday, as global crude oil prices rose further raising concerns over the need for the central bank to tighten monetary policy aggressively to contain inflation. — with Reuters
