PSEi falls to 5,800 level, lowest in 3 years

Local shares slid to a three-year low Monday, bringing the main index down to the 5,800-level, as investors anticipated gloomy economic data amid sluggish public spending.

With the corruption mess hurting market confidence, the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) lost 1.17 percent, or 101.62 points, to close at 5,828.06.

The broader All Shares Index also declined by 1.24 percent, or 44.38 points, to 3,548.90.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said this was the lowest finish of the local stock barometer since Oct. 3, 2022.

“The local market plunged as investors anticipate dismal [third quarter] GDP (gross domestic product) data to be released later this week amid government underspending and tempered business confidence caused by the corruption issues,” Philstocks financial research manager Japhet Tantiangco said.

A series of probe and mounting protests against corrupt politicians and government officials linked to flood-control projects continues, with Filipinos seeing no arrests yet.

Meanwhile, only the services recorded minimal gain, with financials and mining and oil posting the highest losses.

“The rest fell with the banks incurring most losses, down 3.33 percent, as investors expect more policy easing by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, which would put pressure on banks’ margins,” he added.

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The market closed with 56 gainers and 134 decliners, while 62 were unchanged.

DigiPlus Interactive Corp. was the top index gainer, climbing 8.83 percent to P22.80.

China Banking Corp., on the other hand, was the worst index performer, declining 5.97 percent to P48.05.