Philippine Stock Exchange index slips on Brexit, US Fed rate concerns

MANILA, Philippines — The stock market’s recovery on Wednesday proved to be short-lived as the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) tumbled 52.73 points to close at 7,955.80.

Likewise, the broader All Shares index slipped by 20.96 points or 0.42 percent to finish at 4,888.92.

On the other hand, the sectoral indices were a mixed bag. Ending in positive territory were the mining and oil, property and financials while the holding firms, the industrial and services were down.

Total value turnover reached P7.3 billion.

“It was a sell on news trading session with the major news items being the Brexit dateline extended and the FOMC minutes showing more patience needed. European Union leaders had agreed the UK will stay in the bloc until Oct. 31 to provide more time for the British government to get the divorce terms ratified in Parliament. A review of progress will be held in June,” Regina Capital analyst Luis Limlingan said.

He said Federal Reserve officials, at their most recent meeting, left room for the possibility of interest rate increases before the end of the year, should economic conditions improve.? The European Central Bank earlier made no changes to monetary policy, as expected, repeating that it intends to leave rates at current levels until at least the end of 2019.

With yesterday’s market correction, initial resistance is seen at the 8,000 level.