PSEi slides below 6,600

Local shares were unable to plug the bleeding on Thursday— marking seven consecutive sessions of losses—as the peso continued to weaken post-US elections, causing the Philippine bourse to plunge by more than 2 percent and fall to its lowest value in more than three months.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) slid by 2.34 percent, or 157.24 points, to close at 6,557.09, its lowest since Aug. 8. Alfred Benjamin Garcia, research head at stock brokerage house AP Securities Inc., noted that the bourse was “not quite in bear market territory just yet.”

For the market to enter the bear territory, it should have declined by at least 20 percent from a recent high.

In the PSEi’s case, it is 13.77 percent below the PSEi’s recent peak in October, when investors were high on recent interest rate cuts by both the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the US Federal Reserve.

Likewise, the broader All Shares Index fell by 2.95 percent, or 111.84 points, to close at 3,680.62. A total of 674.13 million shares worth P7.53 billion changed hands, stock exchange data showed.

Japhet Tantiangco, research head at Philstocks Financial Inc., explained that investors continued to exit the market on the rise in US longterm treasury yields.

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High treasury yields usually lead to a stronger US dollar relative to other currencies, as these become more attractive to global investors. Ayala Land Inc. was the most actively traded stock as it slipped by 4.79 percent to P28.80 each.

It was followed by BDO Unibank Inc., down 2.75 percent to P138.10. International Container Terminal Services Inc. was one of the very rare gainers as it climbed by 0.53 percent to P380 per share.