Index back in red after quiet session

The recovery of the stock market yesterday proved to be shortlived as the index went back to negative territory yesterday.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) went down by 15.73 points, or 0.20 percent, to settle at 7,750.42.

Likewise, the broader All Shares index declined by 15.66 points or 0.32 percent to end at 4,785.01.

The sectoral indices, meanwhile, took the cue from the main indices, also ending mostly in the red. Only two sectoral gauges finished in positive territory. These are the services and mining and oil.

The rest such as the property, financial, holding firms and industrial gauges finished in negative territory.

Total value turnover remained thin at P5.6 billion. Market breadth was negative, 107 to 77, while 49 issues were left unchanged.

Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital gave this comment. “Another quiet session in terms of value turnover occurred in the Philippines given the state of Brexit, US-China trade negotiations, and the focus on the Boeing 737 Max 8 grounded worldwide. Trading activity, however, may pick up on Friday with the deadline of the FTSE rebalancing.”

Other foreign developments that may have affected yesterday’s session included the UK Parliament’s action on Wednesday which voted against a no-deal (242-391 vote), hard Brexit, in line with expectations.

The motion passed by a margin of just four votes, less than in January, when it was first voted on. Lawmakers then confirmed a rejection of any no-deal in a follow-on vote. Parliament will vote on whether to request an extension to the March 29 deadline– just 16 days away–to reach a trade agreement with the European Union.