PSEi drops 1% ahead of holiday
The stock market plunged on Monday as investors pared their portfolios ahead of a dual holiday and a scheduled trade meeting between China and the United States.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dropped 1.09 percent or 82.99 points to close at 7,500.53 while the broader All Shares decreased 0.79 percent or 36.56 points to finish at 4,570.13.
There will be no trading on Tuesday as the country marks Ninoy Aquino Day and the Eid al Adha holiday. The market will reopen on Wednesday, a day before Chinese officials meet with US counterparts in Washington for renewed talks following the start of a trade war.
“Investors are probably staying on the sidelines as well as they wait for the discussion between the US and China about the trade tariffs,” Timson Securities, Inc. trader Jervin de Celis said.
De Celis said market players may have also cashed in on gains given a lack of domestic catalysts.
“This is more of a retest of this level and if no positive news comes to lift local market sentiment then we may see the PSEi revisiting 7,000 again this third quarter,” he said.
Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan shared the view, saying: “The local bourse closed this interim trading session 82.99 points lower … as both the lack of upward catalysts and the shortened trading week weighed the market for most of the day.”
Most sectoral indices settled in the red except for services, which rose by 0.22 percent.
Volume turnover reached 1.4 billion shares valued at P5.4 billion.
Losers led winners, 115 to 85, while 40 issues were unchanged.
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