The benchmark PSEi bucked the regional uptrend on Wednesday as investors traded cautiously as they assessed the impact of the results of the May 12 midterm election on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s remaining three years in office.
Michael Ricafort, chief economist from Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC), said investors were still digesting the results of the midterm election, especially at the House of Representatives and the Senate.
Ricafort said the May 12 election results will determine the level of support the Marcos administration will have for the next three years.
It will also reveal if the current administration has enough support to push its social,
political and economic reforms that require legislative measures, Ricafort added.
The PSEi slipped 0.23 percent or 15.01 points to 6,551.81.
The broader All Shares shed 0.17 percent or 6.45 points to 3,798.88.
Losers outnumbered gainers 82 to 114 with 46 stocks unchanged. Trading value reached more than P9.5 billion.
“The local market declined as investors decided to take profits following a two-day rally,” Japhet Tantiangco, analyst at stock brokerage Philstocks Financial Inc., said.
Tantiangco said investors traded “cautiously” as the period for the first quarter earnings report draws to a close Thursday.
“Sectors were mixed, with the properties on top, adding 2.89 percent. The conglomerates were at the bottom, losing 1.53 percent,” he said.
Most markets brushed off the report that inflation in the US last month was slower than expected.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose more than 1 percent. Taiwan stocks jumped more than 2 percent to four-month highs, while Indonesia shares climbed more than 2 percent, reaching their highest levels since early-February.
Most actively traded International Container Terminal Services Inc. gained P4 to P411. Ayala Land Inc. rose P1 to P23.50. BDO Unibank Inc. dipped P1 to P167. Aboitiz Equity Ventures Inc. increased P3.25 to P37.25. SM Prime Holdings Inc. went up P1 to P25.20. Bloomberry Resorts Corp. shed P0.12 to P4. Jollibee Foods Corp. advanced P10.20 to P243.20. Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. declined P0.90 to P79.60. Bank of the Philippine Islands slipped P1.20 to P139.80. DigiPlus Interactive Corp. gained P1.95 to P47.45. –with a report from Reuters
