Share prices retreat on net foreign selling

MANILA, Philippines — The stock market opened the week on a sour note, battered by heavy foreign selling.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) plunged by 176.03, or 2.23 percent, to close at 7,701.60.

Likewise, the broader All Shares index slipped 80.18 points, or 1.72 percent, to end at 4,581.89.

Most indexes ended in negative territory except for the mining and oil.

Total value turnover was thin at P6.233 billion. Market breadth was negative, 126 to 70 while 73 issues were left unchanged.

Foreign buying reached P3.2 billion, while foreign selling was at P4.2 billion for a total net foreign selling of P983 million.

D.A. Market Securities said the PSE fell as investors fear that the water dispute may place utilities at risk mode. These include power generation and distribution.

Ayala Corp. lost 3.85 percent to P752 per share while Manila Water Corp. shed 6.79 percent to end at P9.34.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp., parent firm of Maynilad Water Services Inc., on the other hand, rose 1.33 percent.

Chris Mangun of AAA Securities gave this comment: “Most Asian markets ended with some gains today after the US and China come to an agreement on a preliminary trade deal which pushed back the imposition of more tariffs on both countries. Here at the PSE, it was a different story. The main index ended the day down 2.23 percent wiping out all the gains of the last two weeks.”