PSEi falls below 6,300 on tariff, peso woes
Tariff anxiety continued to grip investors on Thursday, the last day before the tariff deadline, pushing the local stock barometer below the 6,300 barrier.
By the end of the session, the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) lost 1.04 percent, or 65.5 points, to close at 6,252.73, its lowest in a month.
Likewise, the broader All Shares Index shed 1.05 percent, or 39.68 points, to end at 3,736.91.
A total of 902.65 million shares worth P7.85 billion changed hands, stock exchange data showed.
Luis Limlingan, head of sales at stock brokerage house Regina Capital Development Corp., said the slide was due to anxiety over the tariff deadline on Friday, with investors weighing its potential impact on the market.
Japhet Tantiangco, research head at Philstocks Financial Inc., said the peso’s depreciation also contributed to the bad sentiment.
The local currency closed at 58.32 against the greenback on Thursday from 57.58 the previous day.
Digital entertainment and gaming platform DigiPlus Interactive Corp. suffered one of its worst days in history as it bled 29.9 percent to close at P25.20. This was as Sen. Erwin Tulfo again pushed for a total ban on online gambling.
Tulfo, one of the fiercest online gambling critics, will lead the Senate probe into the sector.
International Container Terminal Services Inc. rose by 0.54 percent to P448 each, followed by BDO Unibank Inc., down 2.93 percent to P142.70; Bank of the Philippine Islands, down 2.07 percent to P118.20; and Ayala Land Inc., down 3.1 percent to P25 each.
Others were Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., up 1.09 percent to P74.20; SM Investments Corp., down 1.69 percent to P816; PLDT Inc., up 0.69 percent to P1,317
