PSEi slips 0.95% as market digests slower GDP

Share prices on the Philippine Stock Exchange declined on Friday as the slower gross domestic product (GDP) print put a damper on market sentiment.

The bellwether PSEi shed 66.89 points or 0.95 percent to close at 6,968.82. The broader All Shares lost 19.99 points or 0.47 percent at 4,269.88.

“The market’s decline is due to the dismal third quarter GDP growth which investors are still digesting,” Philstocks Financial Inc. research analyst Japhet Luis Tantiangco said.

The economy grew at a slower pace of 6.1 percent in the third quarter of 2018. This compares with the revised 6.2 percent in the second quarter of the year, and the revised 7.0 percent in the same period last year.

This is also slower than market estimates at 6.2 percent.

“Investors may also be looking forward to the GDP for the last quarter of 2018. We need a 7-percent growth in the fourth quarter to reach the lower end of the government’s projection of 6.5 to 6.9 percent, something which is going to be difficult given that inflation is expected to remain elevated for the rest of the year,” Tantiangco said.

“Investors are also weighing in on the possibility of a rate hike from the Federal Reserve in December after keeping its rates unchanged in their recent meeting,” she said.

The Fed held interest rates steady on Thursday but remained on track to keep gradually tightening borrowing costs, as it pointed to a healthy economy that was marred only by a dip in the growth of business investment.

Foreign funds bought P3.124 billion shares and sold P3.792 billion for a net selling position of P668.313 million.

More than 1.165 billion shares valued at P5.957 billion, changed hands. Advancers led decliners, 105 to 84, and 53 issues were unchanged.

Week-on-week, the main index lost 171.47 points or 2.40 percent from 7,140.29 on October 21. The PSEi shed 1,755.31 points or 20.12 percent from 8,724.13 on Jan. 3, the first trading day of 2018.