Phl stocks falter on US rate hike woes

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine stocks faltered yesterday as earlier fears about a sooner-than-expected US interest rate hike resurfaced.

The country’s benchmark stock index declined 0.48 percent or 37.78 points, snapping five consecutive sessions of finishing above the 7,800 mark after closing at 7,790.70.

The broader all shares index also fell in the negative territory, sliding  0.66 percent or 30.15 points to end at 4,523.62.

“The local market took its cue from Wall Street’s decline on fears the Fed might raise interest rates sooner.  Large caps sensitive to interest rate movements were placed on spotlight, as investors reassessed prospects for 2015,” said Jason Escartin, investment analyst at F Yap Securities.

Worries reemerged in the US after last Friday’s strong jobs data pushed many to believe that the Federal Reserve would raise rates soon.

Wall Street indexes succumbed to such fears overnight, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq each losing 1.7 percent while the Dow shed 1.9 percent.

Asian stocks followed Wall Street’s lead as most markets in the region ended lower except for Japan’s Nikkei which finished in the green.

Market breadth, as a result, was negative as decliners trounced advancers, 130 to 45, while 47 stocks were unchanged.

Value turnover was flat at P8.61 billion with 1.96 billion shares changing hands.