PSEi suffers further losses, down 0.50%

Philippine shares sustained further losses in a sell-off on Friday that brought main index to a 17-month low at the closing bell.

The bellwether PSEi lost 34.95 points or 0.49 percent to 7,063.20 at the closing bell, its weakest in over 17 months since closing at 7,030.95 on Jan. 4, 2017. The broader All Shares shed 22.15 points or 0.51 percent to 4,347.06.

“At this point, it’s likely that the selloff is primarily sentiment-driven already, considering that no new negative developments were reported and that entering bear territory is a significant sell trigger for many investors,” China Bank Securities Corp. research director Garie Ouano said.

The benchmark index lost 22.03 percent since its peak of 9,058.62 on January 29, bringing the market further to bear territory.

In a bear market, stock prices fall and widespread pessimism causes a selfsustained downward spiral, according to Investopedia.

A downturn of 20 percent or more from a peak is considered a bear market.

BDO Unibank chief market strategist Jonathan Ravelas noted how bearish sentiment operates and impacts on the market.

“As sentiment deteriorates, investors seem to lighten up their positions. To put it simply, when in doubt, pullout,” Ravelas said.

More than 1.873 billion shares valued at P8.050 billion, changed hands. Decliners led advancers, 129 to 76, and 46 issues were unchanged.

The main index hit an intra-day low of 6,923.67, the first time this year that the PSEi fell below the 7,000-level, noted Luis Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital Development Corp.

“However, bargain hunting kept the market from sliding further,” Limlingan said.

Foreign funds bought P3.795 billion worth of shares and sold P5.205 billion for a net selling position of P1.409 billion.

Week-on-week, the bellwether lost 466.34 points or 6.19 percent from 7,529.54 on June 14. It was weaker by 1,660.93 points or 19.038 percent from 8,724.13 on Jan. 3, the first trading day of 2018. (GMA News

Online)