PHILIPPINE STOCKS retreated again on Wednesday as the weak peso dragged down the market’s mood, along with lingering concerns over the Middle East crisis.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) plunged by 1.87% or 107.64 points to close at 5,653.55, while the broader all shares index dropped by 0.97% or 31.27 points to 3,182.69.
“The local bourse retreated in today’s session as investors resorted to profit taking following (Tuesday’s) gains,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said. “Market participants remained cautious, maintaining short positions amid continued sharp weakness in the local currency. Persistent concerns over the peso’s depreciation weighed on investor sentiment, limiting buying interest and keeping the market under pressure.”
Philstocks Financial Inc. Research Manager Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco added that the market remained concerned over potential price pressures stemming from the weak currency and the Middle East conflict.
“The local market dropped as inflation outlook concerns took center stage. This came following the rise in global oil prices caused by renewed attacks on Saudi Arabia’s refinery by the Houthis, and the persistent weakness of the peso, which has already reached 64.00 against the US dollar,” he said. “Elevated long-term Treasury yields also made stocks relatively less attractive.”
The peso on Wednesday rose by 14.5 centavos to close at P64.025, halting a seven-day slide where it finished at fresh record lows.
Philippine President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. said the government will do all that it can to arrest the peso’s slide, which he said came amid a broadly stronger greenback and the global oil price shock due to tensions in the Gulf area.
Oil prices rose after an attack on a refinery in Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest crude exporter, renewed concerns around the risks to supply in the Middle East, Reuters reported. Brent crude futures were up 1.2% at $115.24 a barrel.
The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas has said it does not target a specific exchange rate and only intervenes in the market to smoothen out sharp swings that could be disruptive and inflationary.
Five of six sectoral indices closed lower. Services slid by 2.95% or 88.49 points to 2,912.41; financials sank by 2.07% or 37.72 points to 1,787.30; holding firms dropped by 0.84% or 35.87 points to 4,242.48; industrial declined by 0.69% or 51.49 points to 7,357.90; and property went down by 0.69% or 12.41 points to 1,793.97.
Mining and oil rose by 0.41% or 75.25 points to 18,583.99.
Decliners outnumbered advancers, 105 to 70, while 68 names closed unchanged.
Value turnover decreased to P7.89 billion on Wednesday with 897.74 million shares traded from the P9.52 billion with 1.12 billion issues that changed hands on Tuesday.
Net foreign selling was at P683.60 million, a reversal of the P509.91 million in net buying in the previous session. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno
