Philippine Shares Tumble Amid Cautious Trading, Data Deluge

MANILA, Philippines — The local stock market capped off the week in the red zone, declining for a second straight session as investors maintained their cautious stance as they wait for key macroeconomic data releases next week. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index fell by 1.1 percent or 69.31 points, settling at 6,236.44. The broader All Shares index also slipped by 0.59 percent or 20.3 points to end at 3,395.05. Philstocks Financial Inc. said the local market declined as investors digested the latest national government debt data, which came in at a new record high of P19.07 trillion. It said risks stemming from uncertainties with respect to the US-Iran war also weighed on the market. “Investors took a cautious stance ahead of a week of macroeconomic data releases including July inflation rate, June Labor force survey and Q2 GDP,” Philstocks Financial said. First Metro Securities, for its part, said global sentiment remained cautious after the US Federal Reserve kept rates unchanged and maintained its hawkish stance, while renewed Middle East tensions kept oil and inflation risks in focus. Locally, First Metro Securities said bargain hunting and selective blue-chip buying were offset by profit taking and index rebalancing flows. Sectors were mixed, with mining and oil posting the largest gain at 4.05 percent, while services lost the most with 1.57 percent. Trading was robust as total value turnover expanded to P10.90 billion from the previous day’s P6.23 billion. Foreigners were net sellers with net outflows at P1.04 billion. Decliners edged out advancers, 93 to 88, while 63 issues were unchanged. ICTSI was the top traded stock, plunging by 1.73 percent to P963 per share. It was followed by Maynilad, which sank by 2.59 percent to P18.80, and Converge, which soared by 6.1 percent to P10.78.