US tariffs salvo weighs down PSEi
The escalating trade war in the West continued to spook investors on Tuesday, with the local bourse easing downward near the 6,000 level.
By the end of the session, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) lost 0.52 percent or 31.81 points to 6,064.16.
The broader All Shares Index likewise shed 0.4 percent or 14.55 points to close at 3,640.45.
A total of 634.67 million shares worth P5.17 billion changed hands, stock exchange data showed. Foreigners continued to be net sellers, with foreign outflows totaling P563.8 million.
Luis Limlingan, head of sales at stock brokerage house Regina Capital Development Corp., said the PSEi’s decline followed US President Donald Trump’s pronouncement that tariffs on Canada and Mexico “will go forward.”
Only banks and property firms registered gains among the sub-sectors, albeit nearly flat, buoyed by index heavyweights BDO Unibank Inc. (up 2.48 percent to P144.50) and SM Prime Holdings Inc. (up 0.43 percent to P23.50)
Universal Robina Corp. was the top-traded stock as it dipped by 4.35 percent to P67 each.
Following were International Container Terminal Services Inc., down 0.12 percent to P340; Ayala Land Inc., flat at P22.90; SM Investments Corp., down 0.77 percent to P774; and DigiPlus Interactive Corp., down 3.31 percent to P36.55 per share.
Other actively traded stocks included Bank of the Philippine Islands (down 0.38 percent to P130), Jollibee Foods Corp. (up 1.97 percent to P259) and Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. (down 3.27 percent to P72.50).
