Index falls to lowest level in over 6 months

MANILA, Philippines — The stock index fell to its lowest level in over six months as investors continued to worry over the pace of economic recovery, with more institutions downgrading their growth forecast for the Philippines this year.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index or PSEi closed in the red for the entire week, chopping off 24.07 points or 0.38 percent to 6,258.71 the lowest since Oct. 29 last year.

The broader All Shares index also slipped to 3.877.43, down 2.22 points or 0.05 percent.

“Local market closed in the red as sentiment continued to be negative heading into the release of Q1 GDP next week. Net foreign selling persisted and accumulated to P2.6 billion this week, value turnover averaged just P4.66 billion versus last week’s P4.9 billion,” said AB Capital Securities in a market report.

Losers slightly edged gainers, 106 to 104, while 35 issues were unchanged.

PhilStocks Financial analyst Japhet Tantiangco said the local bourse dropped further on last-minute selling.

“This comes as investors continue to worry about the pace and the strength of our economic recovery due to the setbacks brought by the pandemic and the consequent strict quarantine measures reimposed in the National Capital Region Plus. Tailwinds that can boost sentiment remain missing,” he said.

The local bourse has been down for six straight days, with losses amounting to 228.8 points or a decline of 3.53 percent.

Tantiangco said this was a reflection of investors’ declining confidence toward the market amid the pandemic and economic concerns.

Trading was still tepid with net value turnover below the year-to-date average of P8.30 billion, he noted.

Making sentiment worse was the fact that foreigners were still net sellers, with net outflows amounting to P637.59 million.

Net foreign selling is already on a 26-day streak, averaging P700.87 million per day, Tantiangco noted.