Index tumbles on rising possibility of Fed rate hike

MANILA, Philippines - The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell anew below the 7,000-mark following US Fed chairman Janet Yellen’s reaffirmation of a possible interest rate increase this month.

The PSEi closed 52.98 points lower at 6,994.10, while the broader All Shares index finished at 4,027.71, down 25.99 points or 0.64 percent.

All other indexes closed in negative territory as investors, especially foreign investors continued to unload their holdings.

The biggest drag was the industrial index, down by 135.62 points and 1.22 percent, followed by the holding firms index, which declined by 43.17 points or 0.65 percent.

Total value reached P6.370 billion. Decliners outnumbered advancers 94 to 61 while 52 stocks were left unchanged.

Luis Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital said local share prices dropped after Yellen reaffirmed the possibility of a rate hike in December.

“The Philippine market traded lower after the weak US market last night. Yellen reaffirmed the possibility of December rate hike,” Limlingan said.

US Fed policy makers are widely seen raising interest rates for the first time in almost a decade at their next meeting on Dec. 15-16.

Investors were also awaiting the decision from the ECB regarding its stimulus plan, he added.

The US Fed started hinting of a rate hike after the US economy created 271,000 jobs in October, significantly higher than the 185,000 jobs that economists had forecast.

Analysts said the strong number raised expectations that the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates at its policy meeting in December.