Share prices on the Philippine Stock Exchange continued to weaken, plagued by concerns about the impact of the US-initiated trade war against its trading partners.
“Concerns over (US President Donald) Trump’s trade policies persisted, with tariffs on Canada and Mexico set to take effect after the postponement deadline,” Luis Limlingan, managing director of Regina Capital and Development Corp., said.
“Weak economic data and ongoing inflation worries dampened sentiment, with investors turning their focus to upcoming earnings reports and the Fed’s preferred inflation indicator, the PCE (personal consumption expenditures), for clues on the market’s next move,” he added.
The main PSEi declined 31.81 points or 0.52 percent to 6,064.16. The broader All Shares dropped 14.55 points or 0.4 percent to 3,640.45.
Losers outpaced gainers 125 to 63, with 57 stocks unchanged. Trading value reached more than P5.17 billion.
Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said US stock markets “mostly declined” overnight to new one-month lows, after Trump signaled higher US import tariffs on Canada and Mexico will take effect on March 4, 2025.
Peter Garnace, equity research analyst at Unicapital Securities Corp., said investor sentiment may have also been “further dampened” by the slight downgrade of the Philippines’ weight in the MSCI rebalancing which will take effect February 28.
Most actively traded Universal Robina Corp. dropped P3.05 to P67. International Container Terminal Services Inc. shed P0.40 to P340. Ayala Land Inc. closed unchanged at P22.90. SM Investments Corp. shed P6 to P774. DigiPlus Interactive Corp. declined P1.25 to P36.55. Bank of the Philippine Islands dropped P0.50 to P130. BDO Unibank Inc. gained P3.50 to P144.50. Jollibee Foods Corp. rose P5 to P259. Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. dropped P2.45 to P72.50. SM Prime Holdings Inc. gained P0.10 to P23.50.
