Share prices ended down Tuesday as investors waited for strong news that could perk up buying.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) was down 4.99 points to 7,198.45, a 0.07 percent drop.
The broader all shares index was down 1.56 points to 4,319.74, a 0.04 percent drop.
Losers narrowly edged gainers 115 to 114 with 44 stocks unchanged. Trading turnover reached P16.03 billion.
The peso closed at 48.078 to the dollar, down from 48.075.
The currency opened at 48.06 and hit a high of 48.055 and a low of 48.082. Trading turnover reached $650.5 million.
Luis Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital Development Corp., said shares traded mostly on the negative side intraday before late session buying helped it to close relatively flat “without many catalysts and ahead of (US President-elect) Joe Biden’s presidential inauguration.”
The US market was closed in observance of the Martin Luther King holiday.
Japhet Tantiangco, analyst at Philstocks Financial Corp., said the decline was influenced by coronavirus worries.
“Most neighboring peers are up as investors await US Treasury Department Head nominee Janet Yellen’s remarks at the Senate Finance Committee regarding the need for a big fiscal stimulus,” Tantiangco said.
Most actively traded Apollo Global Capital Inc. was up P0.060 to P0.365. Abra Mining and Industrial Corp. was up P0.003 to P0.11. MRC Allied Inc. was up P0.12 to P0.88. Premier Horizon Alliance Corp. was up P0.24 to P3.10. Basic Energy Corp. was down P0.09 to P1.77. Abacore Capital Holdings Corp. was up P0.45 to P1.35.
BDO Unibank Inc. was up P1.50 to P111. Bank of the Philippine Islands was down P0.20 to P84.50. Ayala Land Inc. was steady at P39.65.
