LOCAL STOCKS closed nearly flat on Wednesday as investors stayed on the sidelines ahead of the release of September US inflation data, which could provide clues on the US Federal Reserve’s next move.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) went up by 6.26 points or 0.1% to close at 5,853.63, while the broader all shares gained 3.14 points or 0.1% to finish at 3,155.58.
AP Securities, Inc. Equity Research Analyst Carlos Angelo O. Temporal said Philippine shares barely moved on Wednesday ahead of the release of US inflation data.
“The PSEi was up incrementally after trading within a narrow band, coupled with low value turnover, as investors stayed on the sidelines, wary of US inflation data due out on Thursday,” Mr. Temporal said.
“Rising bond yields abroad following BoE’s (Bank of England) announcement that it will be concluding its bond-buying program within the week has also tempered sentiment further,” he added.
Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said shares traded “quietly” ahead of the release of US consumer price index report on Oct. 13 and the minutes of Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) September meeting and US producer price index (PPI) data overnight.
“US stocks fell off their highs and bond yields ticked up when the BoE said its market intervention would be over soon and pension funds have just three days to rebalance positions,” Mr. Limlingan said.
“Many are looking forward to the September PPI, a gauge of final-demand wholesale prices, and the FOMC minutes due Wednesday. While Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell has acknowledged that aggressive interest rate increases could be painful, the central bank will continue to charge forward in its fight to lower inflation,” he added.
Back home, sectoral indices ended mixed. Holding firms went up by 14.07 points or 0.25% to 5,618.21; property gained 3.98 points or 0.16% to end at 2,484.81; and industrials rose by 12.10 points or 0.14% to 8,658.39.
Meanwhile, mining and oil declined by 46.08 points or 0.44% to 10,413.83; financials dropped by 2.86 points or 0.19% to 1,498.23; and services shed 1.58 points or 0.1% to close at 1,522.95.
Value turnover declined to P3.7 billion on Wednesday with 1.27 billion shares changing hands from the P4.22 billion with 906.40 million issues traded on Tuesday.
Decliners narrowly outnumbered advancers, 87 versus 82, while 55 names closed unchanged at the end of trading on Wednesday.
Net foreign selling went up to P327.60 million on Wednesday from the P226.27 million recorded on Tuesday.
AP Securities’ Mr. Temporal placed the PSEi’s support at 5,700 and resistance at 6,000. — A.E.O. Jose