Phl stocks fall as investors realign holdings
Local stocks tumbled yesterday ahead of month-end realigning of portfolios.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) closed at 6,630.68, down by 55.41 points or 0.83 percent.
The broader All Shares index likewise slipped by 20.90 points or 0.60 percent to 3,487.71.
All the other gauges were down as well, led by mining & oil and holding firms.
Total value turnover reached P4.2 billion. Market breadth was negative, 103 to 64 while 61 issues were unchanged.
“Philippine shares were sold down as funds began to reposition ahead of the month end window dressing and the release of the PSEi rebalancing results,” said Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital.
He said fund managers decided to keep cash ahead of a new batch of economic releases.
COL Financial chief technical analyst Juanis Barredo, meanwhile, said that for this year, the PSEi could hit 7,100 to 7,500 in a bullish scenario.
The less bullish scenario is consolidation below 6,700 in preparation for a resistance break sometime later.
Elsewhere in Asia, stocks started the week on the front foot, as new steps by Beijing to stabilize the local market outweighed the drag on sentiment from the liquidation of property giant China Evergrande.
However, investors were also sensitive to geopolitical risks with oil rising after a Houthi missile attack caused a fire on a fuel tanker in the Red Sea and a drone attack killed three US troops in Jordan.
The dollar and US Treasury yields hovered in the middle of recent ranges ahead of a highly anticipated Federal Reserve policy meeting later in the week.
Markets expect the Fed to keep policy steady on Wednesday, but will be hunting for clues on when a first rate cut might come.
Economists mostly predict June, but traders are pricing the risk of a March move at essentially a coin toss, according to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.
The US dollar index, which tracks the currency against six major peers, stuck to the middle of its range of the past two weeks at 103.52, little changed from Friday.