Record-high PH debt weighs on PSEi

The benchmark stocks index dipped below the 6,900 level on Tuesday as fresh data showing government debt to have reached a record high in July dismayed investors.

By the end of the session, the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) slipped by 0.58 percent or 40.49 points to 6,882.92.

Likewise, the broader All Shares Index shed 0.55 percent or 20.63 points to 3,730.78.

A total of 699.58 million shares worth P5.08 billion changed hands as foreigners made net purchases worth P20.57 million, stock exchange data showed.

Stocks went down after the Bureau of Treasury announced that the Philippine government’s debt reached a new high of P15.69 trillion in July due to the issuance of new government securities and availment of project loans.

In addition, the significantly lower gains from foreigners was a result of the Labor Day holiday in the United States, according to Luis Limlingan, head of sales at stock brokerage house Regina Capital Development Corp.

Services-focused firms registered the steepest drop at 1.23 percent as index heavyweight International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI), the top-traded stock, declined by 1.58 percent to P398.60 per share.

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ICTSI was followed by BDO Unibank Inc., flat at P152.80; Universal Robina Corp., down 0.33 percent to P90.80; Ayala Land Inc., up 0.43 percent to P35; and SM Investments Corp., up 1.01 percent to P904.50.

Other actively traded stocks were Ayala Corp., down 0.24 percent to P616.50; SP New Energy Corp., down 0.78 percent to P1.27; SM Prime Holdings Inc., down 1.15 percent to P30.15; Globe Telecom Inc., up 0.36 percent to P2,232; and Jollibee Foods Corp., up 0.38 percent to P261 each.

Losers edged out gainers, 109 to 83, while 52 companies closed unchanged, stock exchange data also showed.