PSEi falls, mirrors US equities

MANILA, Philippines — Local stocks plunged to close the week in the red as they mirror negative sentiment in US equities.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell below the 6,900 level yesterday, snapping a three-day winning streak.

The PSEi plummeted by 2.09 percent or 145.64 points to end at 6,822.32, while the broader All Shares index dropped by 1.39 percent or 50.28 points to settle at 3,560.46.

Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital said Philippine shares were sold down as funds realigned with the latest FTSE rebalancing, which saw a spike in trading activity towards the close.

He said equities dipped as the February producer price index surpassed economists’ expectations.

“The local bourse plunged following the negative cues from the US markets after the US’ February producer price index inflation came in above expectations. This weighed on the sentiment as the Federal Reserve’s decision to ease monetary policy this year may not come any sooner,” Claire Alviar of Philstocks Financial said.

Alviar said the Friday’s net market value turnover turned out strong at P18.79 billion driven by the impact of the FTSE rebalancing.

Mining and oil was the only sector in the green as it managed to add 0.37 percent.

Property suffered the biggest drop at 3.04 percent, followed by financials and holdings firms, which declined by 2.06 percent and 2.04 percent, respectively.

Market breadth was negative as decliners crushed advancers, 113 to 92, while 38 issues were unchanged.

Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. (SMC) gained the most among the index members, rising by 3.86 percent after reporting a 67-percent jump in net income to P44.7 billion in 2023 on the back of significant volume growth across its key businesses.