PSEi tumbles as investors stay on sidelines

MANILA, Philippines – The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) ended in negative territory yesterday as investors found no compelling reason to go back to the market.

The PSEi closed at 6,172.57, down 24.81 points or 0.40 percent, while the broader All Shares index slipped by 18.85 points or 0.51 percent.

The mining and oil, services and industrial sectors all ended in positive territory.

However, total value turnover was thin at P4.641 billion. Market breadth was negative with 136 losers and 69 gainers, while 34 issues were left unchanged.

Chris Mangun of AAA Securities gave this comment: “The main index remains a laggard and continues to move in the opposite direction.”

He noted that a spike in COVID-19 fatalities over the weekend has stomped out any optimism that investors might have. Trading volumes also declined substantially with only P4.41 billion traded excluding block sales.

“This trend will continue until we see an improvement in Cebu’s current situation,” Mangun said.

On the other hand, Asian markets climbed higher led by China’s Shanghai composite as investors remain optimistic that China’s economy is recovering and getting stronger by the day.

Jonathan Ravelas of BDO said the local market is having difficulty sustaining the rally but there is strong support at the 6,000 levels. The market is expected to consolidate within the 6,000 to 6,500 levels in the near term.