Stocks stay in red for 3rd straight day

MANILA, Philippines —  The local stock market stayed in red territory yesterday as bearish sentiment once again prevailed amid lack of fresh catalysts.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index declined for a third straight day, inching down by 0.16 percent or 9.82 points to end at 6,108.72.

The broader All Shares index also slipped by 0.31 percent or 11.38 points, wrapping up the session at 3,682.29.

“Local equities erased early gains and ended flattish, tracking the decline in global markets after Fed chair Jerome Powell said that asset prices, including equities, were trading at inflated levels,” AP Securities Inc. said in a report.

Philstocks Financial research manager Japhet Tantiangco said the local market declined further as dismay over the country’s corruption issues continued to dampen investors’ sentiment.

“The negative cues from Wall Street, the weakening of the peso against the dollar and the recent rise in long term local treasury yields also weighed on the local bourse,” Tantiangco said.

All sectors finished lower, with property losing the most with a 0.37 percent drop.

Total value turnover thinned to P5.26 billion from the previous day’s P22.69 billion.

Market breadth was negative as decliners battered advancers, 103 to 88, while 63 issues did not change hands.

BDO Unibank was the session’s top traded stock, finishing flat at P140 per share, followed by ICTSI which improved by 0.2 percent to P500 and RL Commercial REIT which slipped by 0.9 percent to P7.73.

Megawide shares, meanwhile, reached a two-year high, closing at P3.58.