Looming US rate hike dampens stocks

MANILA, Philippines - Share prices retreated yesterday as investors continued to await for fresh leads amid a looming interest rate hike in the US, analysts said.

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index tumbled 36.20 points, or 0.48 percent, to finish at 7,464.59.

Similarly, the broader All Shares index also closed in negative territory, settling at 4,464.74 or down by 14.43 points or 0.32 percent.

Most of the counters closed in the red except for the mining and oil and Property sectors, which declined 0.71 percent and 0.84 percent, respectively.

Value turnover reached P6.62 billion as advancers edged out decliners, 100 to 80 while 51 stocks were left unchanged.

“Weak economic numbers and the upcoming US Federal Reserve meeting have been hanging over the head of investors as confidence fluctuates. Most appear to take a short-term view at least until some of these ‘data events’ are hurdled and are offered a more stable foundations to base the medium-to-long-term outlook on,” said Justino Calaycay of A&A Securities.

Calaycay said the weak closing once more casts doubts on the sustainability of rallies, validating resistance at the 7,460 to 7,470 levels.

“On a slightly positive note however, value turnover dipped to P6.62 billion, below the recent averages. This posits the drop to be a healthy one with investors simply reacting to and showing a degree of apprehensions over the near-term,” Calaycay said.

 Elsewhere in the region, most indexes in the Asia Pacific region were mostly in the red and Wall Street was soft, closing just an inch above the previous session.