PHILIPPINE SHARES closed in the red on Tuesday as investors pocketed their gains from the market’s three-day climb and with data showing that headline inflation picked up slightly last month.
The main Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell by 1.2% or 79.79 points to close at 6,545.38 on Tuesday, while the broader all shares index lost 1.14% or 43.34 points to end at 3,750.69.
“The local market fell this Tuesday as investors took profits after a three-day rally,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Senior Research Analyst Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message. “Investors also digested the December 2024 inflation figure of 2.9%, faster than the preceding month’s 2.5%. This was also biased towards the upper end of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ (BSP) 2.3% to 3.1% forecast range.”
“Philippine shares succumbed to profit taking following the release of the local December consumer price index, which came slightly higher than street estimates, while sentiment was pulled down by the tepid performance of the United States,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan added in a Viber message.
Philippine headline inflation picked up to 2.9% in December from 2.5% in November, the government reported on Tuesday. This marked the third consecutive month of faster inflation and was higher than the 2.7% median estimate in a BusinessWorld poll of 13 analysts.
Still, this was slower than the 3.9% print in the same month a year prior and was within the 2.3%-3.1% forecast of the BSP.
The December rate brought the full-year 2024 inflation average to 3.2%, slower than 6% in 2023 and marking the first time since 2021 that the consumer price index settled within the BSP’s 2-4% annual target. This also matched the central bank’s baseline forecast for the year.
Almost all sectoral indices closed lower on Tuesday. Services slumped by 1.87% or 40.62 points to 2,123.19; property declined by 1.67% or 40.20 points to 2,360; financials went down by 0.8% or 17.86 points to 2,208.71; industrials sank by 0.61% or 57.44 points to 9,255.16; and holding firms retreated by 0.49% or 28.15 points to 5,620.10.
Meanwhile, mining and oil climbed by 0.3% or 23.09 points to 7,731.41.
“Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Inc. was the top index gainer, climbing 2.19% to P35. Wilcon Depot, Inc. was the worst index performer, plunging 4.87% to P12.90,” Mr. Tantiangco said.
Value turnover climbed to P4.51 billion on Tuesday with 1.51 billion shares changing hands from the P3.86 billion with 4.54 billion issues traded on Monday.
Decliners outnumbered advancers, 124 versus 96, while 39 names were unchanged.
Net foreign selling stood at P894.32 million on Tuesday versus the P40.94 million in net buying recorded on Monday. — R.M.D. Ochave
