Share prices ended lower Wednesday on risk aversion.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) was down 253.52 points to 6,947.06, a 3.53 percent drop.
The broader all shares index was down 103.75 points to 3,734.38, a 2.7 percent drop.
Losers edged gainers 165 to 40 with 42 stocks unchanged.
Trading turnover reached P14.43 billion with more than half of the turnover coming from foreign funds’ transactions. Foreign funds were net sellers worth P1.25 billion.
The peso closed at 50.34, up from Monday’s 50.39.
The currency opened at 50.36 and hit a high of 50.32 and a low of 50.46. Trading turnover reached $1.033 billion.
Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. said the peso ended up in the backdrop of the decline global oil prices to its lowest in nearly three months while the benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield eased to new 3-week lows amid lingering concerns over the Omicron coronavirus variant.
Ricafort said the Omicron scare has resulted to some travel/flight/international mobility restrictions in some countries around the world, posing a potential slowdown in economic recovery.
“The peso also closed stronger ahead of the settlement of the P360 billion RTBs (retail treasury bonds) on Dec. 2, 2021 and other investment banking transactions that entail some foreign buyers/investors that convert their US dollars and other foreign currencies to pesos,” he said.
Stockbroker Equities Inc. said the market dropped for the fourth straight session “as the local market caught up to Tuesday’s sharp Omicron-led regional weakness while government moves to extend current quarantine restrictions in Metro Manila till mid-December despite consistently low new COVID infections.”
SB Equities said this disappointed investors who were hoping for a further easing of mobility curbs and further dampened appetite for the reopening trade.
SB Equities said the market also digested hawkish comments from Fed chair Jerome Powell which increased expectations of faster asset purchase tapering and Fed rate hikes in 2022.
Most actively traded AC Energy Corp. was down P0.52 to P10.76. Monde Nissin Corp. was down P0.02 to P17. International Container Terminal Services Inc. was down P5 to P192.90. BDO Unibank Inc. was down P6 to P118. Ayala Land Inc. was down P1.30 to P33.20. Globe Telecom Inc. was down P146 to P3,136. Jollibee Foods Corp. was up P13.80.
SM Prime Holdings Inc. was down P2.40 to P35. PLDT Inc. was down P70 to P1,610. SM Investments Corp. was down P48 to P932.
