Share prices ended lower Tuesday amid risk aversion as investors look for more leads to trade the market.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) was down 14.39 points to 6,136.31, a 0.23 percent drop.
The broader all shares index was down 5.96 points to 3,599.72, a 0.17 percent drop.
Gainers edged losers 95 to 91 with 52 stocks unchanged. Trading turnover reached P4.37 billion.
The peso closed at 49.39 to the dollar, down from 49.375 on Monday. It opened at 49.30 and hit a high of 49.27 and a low of 49.40. Trading turnover reached $676.25 million.
Overseas, Taiwan’s dollar and South Korea’s won outshone peers, their respective share markets climbed 2 percent and 1.5 percent, and other assets across most of the region traded higher. Stocks in Singapore rose half a percent after three straight sessions of losses.
“Local shares traded slightly lower as investors as investors await the SONA (state of the nation address) next Monday and a lack of economic data kept many on the sidelines,” said Luis Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital Development Corp.
“Others are also making assumptions on the market availability of a novel coronavirus vaccine being ready for production later this year,” he added.
SB Equities Inc. said “investors continued to brace for upcoming second quarter corporate earnings reports.”
Jennifer Mae Lomboy, a fixed income fund manager at First Metro Asset Management, noted the market remains weak “despite the government’s announcement today that it is not keen on imposing stricter quarantine measures in the capital and upbeat sentiment from vaccine prospects and stimulus across Asia.”
Investors were likely to remain on the sidelines ahead of next Monday’s SONA by President Duterte, Lomboy added.
Most actively traded Bank of the Philippine Islands was down P0.30 to P70.70. SM Prime Holdings Inc. was down P0.80 to P31. BDO Unibank Inc. was down P1.80 to P91.20. SM Investments Corp. was down P15 to P925. Universal Robina Corp. was down P3.70 to P122.10. PLDT Inc. was down P5 to P1,345. Ayala Corp. was up P15 to P765. Ayala Land Inc. was up P0.25 to P33.20. Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. was down P0.50 to P36. Dito CME Holdings Inc. was down P0.03 to P2.97.
