Share prices decline for 3rd session

MANILA, Philippines — Local stocks declined for the third consecutive day, following other Asian bourses, as weak China data added to lingering worries over the pandemic situation.

The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) sliced off another 40.16 points or 0.58 percent to finish at 6,880.20 while the broader All Shares index slipped 17.37 points or 0.40 percent to end at 4,277.63.

Decliners swamped advancers by almost two to one, 128 to 64, leaving 51 issues unchanged.

Trading, however, remained robust with net value turnover at P7.55 billion, above the year-to-date average of P7.11 billion. Foreign transactions for the day ended in a net outflow of P73.03 million.

“The local bourse extended its decline yesterday as investors chose to remain cautious. The concern now is the uncertainties on the sustainability of the NCR’s upcoming social restriction setup and its further easing in the future as our COVID-19 cases remain elevated. Global economic worries also weighed on sentiment as China’s year-on-year retail sale and industrial production growth slowed down from July’s 8.5 percent and 6.4 percent, to 2.5 percent and 5.3 percent, respectively,” said Japhet Tantiangco of  Philstocks Financial.

In other Asian emerging markets, most shares fell as a raft of subdued data from China, indicating slowing economic activity in the world’s second largest economy, raised concerns over a global recovery and an aversion towards riskier assets.