Philippine shares closed lower on Wednesday, tracking declines on Wall Street and other global markets.
“The PSEi tracked Wall Street’s overnight decline, given [US] Fed Chair Powell’s cautious stance on policy rate path,” stockbroker SB Equities Inc. said after the closing bell.
The PSEi lost 0.16 percent or 9.82 points to close at 6,108.72.
The broader All Shares shed 0.31 percent or 11.38 points to 3,682.29.
Losers outnumbered gainers 103 to 88, with 63 stocks unchanged.
Trade value reached P5.26 billion covering 67,039 trades over 5.37 billion shares.
Foreign funds were net sellers of P370.63 million shares, with buying at P2.59 billion and selling at P2.96 billion.
Luis Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital and Development Corp., said “bearish sentiment” prevailed amid a lack of firm catalysts.
“Moreover, international developments also weighed on Philippine market sentiment as Fed Chair Powell indicated that slow hiring and persistent inflation are creating a challenging situation for the US economy,” he added.
Local investor concern over corruption issues also continued to dampen investor sentiment, Japhet Tantiangco, research manager at Philstocks Financial Inc.
Adding to the pressure was the weakening peso, he noted.
The peso closed at 57.461 to the dollar, down from 57.295. The currency opened at 57.33, hitting a high of 57.31 and a low of 57.49. Trade value reached $1.73 billion.
