Stocks slip as sooner-to-come US rate cuts wane

MANILA, Philippines — Local stocks slipped to end the week in the red following negative cues from the US markets.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index finished at 6,619.89, lower by 0.60 percent or 40.1 points.

The broader All Shares index, likewise, slipped by 0.39 percent or 13.8 points to settle at 3,523.49.

Claire Alviar of Philstocks Financial said the local bourse dropped following negative cues from Wall Street “as hopes for a soon-to-come rate cut by the Federal Reserve began to wane.”

In Asia, Alviar said investors were also assessing inflation data in the region.

“Philippine shares took a breather heading into the long US holiday weekend, with the Dow suffering a 1.53 percent decline, its worst session since March 2023,” Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital said.

Net market value turnover thinned to P3.89 billion from the previous day’s P4.85 billion.

All sectors were in the red, except for services, which increased by 0.48 percent.

Property incurred the biggest loss at 2.39 percent, followed by mining and oil with a 1.72 percent decline.

Market breadth remained negative as decliners battered advancers, 103 to 86, while 48 issues were unchanged.

Emperador posted the largest gain among the index members with a 2.42 percent jump, while SM Prime suffered the steepest drop of 4.18 percent.

Markets fell in Asia and Europe yesterday, tracking a sell-off on Wall Street sparked by a string of better-than-expected US data that added to worries the Fed will hold off on cutting interest rates this year.