Index ends in red on lackluster trading

MANILA, Philippines — Trading was lackluster yesterday at the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) due to the absence of catalysts.

The benchmark index went down by 23.56, or 0.31 percent, to finish at 7,517.36.

Similarly, the broader All Shares gauge declined by 9.65 points, or 0.21 percent, to end at 4,585.40.

Most of the indices ended in negative territory, waiting for more signals from the market.

Traders said most investors opted to stay away from the market due to the lack of catalysts.

Total value turnover was P5.4 billion and decliners outpaced gainers, 108 to 91 while 49 issues were unchanged.

Gio Perez of Papa Securities gave this comment: “It was a quiet day for the PSEi as continued tensions and uncertainties in Turkey continued to weigh down on investor sentiment. The index ended only 23 points down to close at 7,517.36, but breached the 7,500 level early on to make an intraday low of 7,478.94. Net foreign selling notably accelerated to P884 million from yesterday’s P645 million.”

Among the decliners were Aboitiz Equity Ventures, (down 3.8 percent), International Container Terminal Services Inc., (down 2.7 percent) and Jollibee (down 2.6 percent).