PSEi hits lowest level this year on Middle East woes
Philippine stocks slipped further on Monday as investors remained cautious over geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East and their impact on the domestic economy.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) closed at 6,006.55, down 0.86 percent or 52.39 points, marking its third straight day of decline since last week.
Luis Limlingan, head of sales at stock brokerage house Regina Capital Development Corp., said the PSEi ended barely above the 6,000 mark, extending last week’s selloff amid cautious sentiment, driven by elevated oil prices and ongoing Middle East war.
“The market remained pessimistic even after the central bank stepped in to support the peso, keeping traders defensive and wary of further downside if key support levels give way in the near term,” Limlingan said.
Philstocks financial research manager Japhet Tantiangco said investor sentiment remained fragile as market players monitored the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which has pushed up global fuel and energy prices and weighed on the Philippine peso. These developments are seen raising the risk of higher inflation in the near term.
Trading activity was subdued during the session. Net value turnover reached P5.88 billion, lower than the year-to-date average of P6.58 billion.
Foreign investors continued to pull funds out of the market, posting net outflows of P400.15 million.
Sectoral performance was mostly negative. Only the services sector managed to finish in positive territory, inching up 0.17 percent.
