Index falls anew on concerns over vaccine rollout

MANILA, Philippines — The local stock market pared its losses, but stayed in negative territory yesterday as concerns over the slow rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine weighed down investor sentiment.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) closed at 7,242.85, down 15.26 points or 0.21 percent.

The broader All Shares index also slipped, declining by 2.83 points or 0.06 percent to end at 4,334.93.

Among the subsectors, only mining and oil and financials  finished higher, with the rest closing in the red.

A total of P9.173 billion worth of shares changed hands yesterday, with advancers trumping losers, 131 to 105,  while 37 issues were unchanged.

Traders said most investors are on a wait and see stance, monitoring the recovery of the economy which depends a lot on the acquisition of a vaccine against COVID-19.

Yesterday’s most active issues were: Apollo Global Capital Inc., which was down 5.62 percent; Premiere Horizon Alliance Corp. (PHA), up 20.85 percent; AC Energy Philippines, down 4.62 percent; BDO, up 0.45 percent and DITO CME, up 1.003 percent.

Top gainers were Basic Energy Corp., which rose 48.94 percent; MAHB (Metro Alliance Holdings & Equities Corp.), up 35.29 percent; PHA, up 20.85 percent and ACEX or ACE Enexor Inc., up 19.55 percent.

Yesterday’s top losers were Millennium Global Holdings Inc., which went down  18.39 percent; Mabuhay Holdings Corp., which lost 12.12 percent; Boulevard Holdings Inc., which was down 9.62 percent; Manila Mining Corp., which lost 9.09 percent and EURO Med Laboratories Philippines Inc., which lost 9.06 percent.