Market jitters wipe out PSEi gains

The local stock market erased whatever gains it booked on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve decided to keep rates steady.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) declined 38.75 points, or 0.49 percent, to settle at 7,723.60, while the broader All Shares index shed 16.34 points, or 0.35 percent to finish at 4,586.71.

The rest of counters closed in negative territory except for the mining and oil and the property sectors, which gained 1.39 percent and 0.03 percent, respectively.

Total value turnover reached P7.61 billion as advancing stocks outnumbered decliners, 90 to 89 while 51 stocks were left unchanged.

Analysts said stock market investors are becoming jittery over President Duterte’s rhetoric and the spate of extrajudicial killings.

Standard & Poor’s, a global debt watcher, has warned that stability and predictability of policy making in the Philippines has diminished somewhat with the President’s statements.

“The President has a strong focus on improving ‘law and order,’ which has allegedly resulted in numerous instances of extrajudicial killings since he came to power. We believe this could undermine respect for the rule of law and human rights, through the direct challenges it presents to the legitimacy of the judiciary, media, and other democratic institutions. When combined with the president’s policy pronouncements elsewhere on foreign policy and national security, we believe that the stability and predictability of policymaking has diminished somewhat,” S&P said.