‘Carina’ dunks PSEI below 6,700
The aftermath of Typhoon “Carina” (international name: Gaemi) spilled over to the local stock market on Thursday as investors weighed its economic damages.
By the closing bell, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) lost 1.23 percent, or 82.85 points, to 6,670.27.
Meanwhile, the broader All Shares Index shed 0.87 percent, or 31.67 points, to close at 3,606.81.
A total of 594.95 million shares worth P4.01 billion changed hands, stock exchange data showed.
The bourse surrendered the 6,700 level a day after the typhoon battered Metro Manila and surrounding provinces, with the state weather bureau saying it had dumped more rain than Typhoon “Ondoy” (international name: Ketsana), another devastating typhoon that hit the capital region in 2009.
“Concerns over the economic damage to the country … weighed on the bourse,” said Mikhail Plopenio, researcher at Philstocks Financial Inc.
Plopenio also said “dismal” second quarter results from the technology sector in the United States discouraged traders locally.
All subsectors were in the red, with mining firms recording the steepest drop at 3.78 percent.
Razon-led International Container Terminal Services Inc. was the top-traded stock as it slipped by 2.48 percent to P353.80 each.
It was followed by BDO Unibank Inc., down 1.65 percent to P143.20; Ayala Land Inc., down 1.27 percent to P31.20; SM Investments Corp., down 1.41 percent to P910; and Bank of the Philippine Islands, down 0.78 percent to P128 per share.
Other actively traded stocks were SM Prime Holdings Inc., down 3.01 percent to P29; Bloomberry Resorts Corp., up 3.05 percent to P8.78; Universal Robina Corp., up 0.34 percent to P117.90; DigiPlus Interactive Corp., up 4.59 percent to P15.50; and Ayala Corp., down 1.52 percent to P585.
Losers overpowered gainers, 121 to 59, while 54 companies closed unchanged, stock exchange data also showed.