Index down anew as uncertainty grips market

MANILA, Philippines - Late-day selling sent the local stock market crashing to its fifth consecutive losing session yesterday.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) tumbled 0.25 percent, or 17.97 points, erasing gains made earlier in the day to finish at 7,162.56.

The broader All Shares index also suffered the same fate, plunging 1.24 percent or 53.58 points to settle at 4,247.85.

The PSEi seemed all set to finish on a positive note for the first time this week on Thursday but a surge of sellers swamped the market just before the closing bell that left stocks reeling once more.

“The market looked ready to snap a four session skid and restore the measure above the 7,200-mark following the decision of the US Federal Reserve to maintain the status quo in its policy settings,” A&A Securities Inc. marketing and research head Justino Calaycay Jr. said.

“The decision, however, appears to have set the tone for a tweak in its June meeting as the post-meeting statement dropped concerns on external risks posed by the sudden volatility in emerging markets at the start of the year,” Calaycay added.

Local counters were mixed at three apiece. The gainers were led by mining and oil stocks which gained 2.21 percent during the trading day while holding firms headed the losers with a 0.64 percent drop.

Market breadth turned out positive for the first time this week, however, as advancers edged decliners, 110 to 71, while 55 stocks were unchanged.

Value turnover was flat from the previous session at P6.7 billion.