Stocks tumble on lack of catalysts

MANILA, Philippines — Stock stumbled yesterday amid the absence of fresh catalysts.

The benchmark PhIlippine Stock Exchange index retreated by 0.91 percent or 58.46 points to close at 6,347.67.

The broader All Shares index also settled in negative territory, declining by 0.74 percent or 28.09 points to 3,758.50.

“Investors exited the local market, taking a cautious stance, amid the lack of fresh leads,” Philstocks Financial research manager Japhet Tantiangco said.

Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., cited the softer foreign direct investment data amid the wait-and-see mode due to uncertainties brought about by the Trump tariffs and trade wars.

“The PSEi also declined lately due to the recent net foreign selling at the local stock market,” Ricafort said.

All sectors were in the red, with financials and property suffering the biggest blow with losses of 1.41 percent and 1.28 percent, respectively.

Decliners squashed advancers, 128 to 65, while 49 shares did not change.

Total value turnover expanded to P9.39 billion from the previous day’s P5.07 billion.

Bloomberry Resorts remained as the most actively traded stock, but this time plunging by 3.89 percent to P5.69 per share.

Other top traded stocks were BDO Unibank and DigiPlus, which fell by 1.08 percent and 5.86 percent, respectively, to P156.20 and P61.10.