MANILA, Philippines — The stock market opened the week on a sour note yesterday with the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Composite index (PSEi) closing lower by 35.02 points, or 0.48 percent, to finish at 7,203.44.
Likewise, the broader All Shares gauge slipped to 4,321.30, down 21.18 points or 0.48 percent.
Most of the sectoral gauges finished in negative territory except for the industrial index, which managed to stay positive.
Total value turnover reached P10.3 billion. Market breadth was negative with 137 losers and 95 gainers, while 43 issues were left unchanged.
Traders said the market would continue to trade sideways as investors step back and monitor the health situation, as well as the economy’s recovery.
Investors are particularly keeping a close watch on the vaccine situation and how soon the government can distribute these to Filipinos nationwide.
“We expect the main index to continue sideways until government policies regarding vaccine rollout and quarantine restrictions are cleared up. On the other hand, the party continues for second-liners and speculative third-liners with seven out of the 10 most actively traded issues for the day belonging to this category,” said Chris Mangun of AAA Equities.
He said there is a lot of speculation on mining issues that have been deeply neglected over the years – as investors know that the government is in dire need of new revenue sources.