Share prices fell for a seventh straight session on Tuesday as investors unloaded positions amid foreign selling pressure, a weaker peso and lingering political and corruption concerns.
The PSEi dropped 0.74 percent, or 44.14 points, to close at 5,953.46. The broader All Shares slipped 0.43 percent, or 15.55 points, to 3,620.79.
Losers outnumbered gainers 129 to 79, with 45 issues unchanged. Trading value reached P9.09 billion across 97,179 trades involving more than 1.57 billion shares. Foreign funds sold a net P2 billion, with sales of P6.2 billion, against P4.19 billion worth of shares bought.
“Selling pressure across the board persists, as investors remain cautious about the overall state of the market,” Luis Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital and Development Corp., said at the time of trading.
He added that domestic uncertainties and a weakening peso continue to weigh on sentiment.
The peso closed at P58.196 to the dollar, weaker than Monday’s P58.145, after touching a low of P58.37 intraday. Volume reached $1.69 billion.
Japhet Tantiangco, research manager at Philstocks Financial Inc., said the extended market fall reflects investor dismay over corruption issues.
“The lack of a positive catalyst added to the market’s decline,” he said.
Nicole Aquino, equity research analyst at First Metro Securities, told clients in a note the uncertainty tied to corruption scandals is leaving investors wary. “They don’t know what direction the market is heading with these corruption issues,” she said.
She added that underperformance also mirrors expectations of weaker third-quarter GDP.
