PHILIPPINE STOCKS closed lower on Monday to track Wall Street’s decline as latest US jobs data fanned expectations of another aggressive rate hike from the US Federal Reserve next month that could push the world’s largest economy into recession.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) declined by 99.61 points or 1.67% to close at 5,832.58 on Monday, while the broader all shares shed 51.49 points or 1.6% to close at 3,149.10.
“After breaking its six-week losing streak, the local index fell at the start of the week in response to Wall Street’s performance last Friday, which plummeted following a solid September jobs report that showed the US economy added 263,000 jobs, exceeding the 250,000 estimate,” Timson Securities, Inc. Head of Online Trading Marc Kebinson L. Lood said in a Viber message.
“This strengthens the Fed’s case for policy tightening, as the labor market in the United States continues to remain tight despite massive interest rate increases,” Mr. Lood said.
He added that the “significant” increase in local pump prices this week due to major oil producers’ decision to cut output also weighed on sentiment.
Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message that Philippine stocks declined amid low trading volume due to the shortened trading week in the US in observance of a federal holiday on Monday.
Value turnover went down to just P2.53 billion on Monday with 325.66 million shares changing hands from the P4.15 billion with 476.13 million issues traded on Friday.
“Sentiment was also dragged by the performance before the weekend — US equities fell on Friday as traders evaluated September’s jobs report,” Mr. Limlingan said.
Wall Street fell on Friday as the September jobs report cemented expectations of continued aggressive tightening by the Fed, fueling recession fears.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined by 630.15 points or 2.11% to 29,296.79; the S&P 500 went down by 104.86 points or 2.80% to 3,639.66; and the Nasdaq Composite dropped by 420.91 points or 3.8% to 10,652.41.
Nonfarm payrolls increased by 263,000 jobs last month after rising by an unrevised 315,000 in August, the US Labor department reported on Friday.
Back home, all sectoral indices ended lower on Monday. Holding firms declined by 113.90 points or 1.99% to 5,586.83; mining and oil dropped by 202.42 points or 1.89% to 10,490.02; industrials went down by 157.13 or 1.79% to 8,618.43; services lost 27.25 points or 1.75% to end at 1,530.31; property shaved off 35.21 points or 1.39% to close at 2,493.21 and financials retreated by 16.23 points or 1.08% to 1,482.66.
Decliners outnumbered advancers, 158 versus 36 with 37 names closed unchanged.
Net foreign selling stood at P240.32 million on Monday, a turnaround from the P191.31 million in net buying recorded on Friday. — AEOJ