Share prices ended lower Monday, tracking overseas leads.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index was down 24.21 points to 6,827.17, a 0.35 percent drop.
The broader all shares index was down 12.16 points to 4,154.74, a 0.29 percent drop.
Losers edged gainers 138 to 64 with 50 stocks unchanged. Trading turnover reached P5.86 billion.
The peso closed at 48.695 to the dollar, down from 48.43 on Friday. It opened at 48.48, an intraday high, and hit a low of 48.725. Trading turnover reached $1.34 billion.
The US Federal Reserve surprised markets last week by signaling sooner-than-expected interest rate hikes, fueling risk aversion in emerging Asian markets.
“This is a risk for emerging markets because it could send capital flows moving outward instead of inward. A stronger US dollar and higher rates could make foreign debt repayments more difficult,” Dubrovsky said.
SB Equities Inc. said the market “slid with the region as investors continued to react to the Federal Reserve’s hawkish tilt while also awaiting the BSP Monetary Board’s policy decision and outlook later in the week.”
The market also tracked the weekend drop in Wall Street.
Most actively traded SM Prime Holdings Inc. was up P0.55 to P36.55. Ever-Gotesco Resources and Holdings Inc. was down P0.19 to P0.49. International Container Terminal Services Inc. was down P2 to P158. BDO Unibank Inc. was up P1.30 to P114.40. Ayala Land Inc. was up P0.50 to 36.50. AC Energy Corp. was down P0.10 to P8.40. PLDT Inc. was up P17 to P1,278. Jollibee Foods Corp. was up P1.60 to P202.20. Converge Information and Communication Technology Solutions Inc. was down P0.50 to P21.75. — Ruelle Castro
