Stocks sustain slip as foreign funds unload

MANILA, Philippines – The local stock market sustained its downward trend as foreign funds continued to liquidate stocks amid uncertainties of a Donald Trump presidency, coupled with the disappointing third quarter financial results of some major companies.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index slipped 14.33 points to 6,857.15, while the broader All Shares index dipped 7.59 points to 4,163.33.

The industrial, holding firms and services sectors were down while the financials, mining and oil and property counters recovered slightly.

Total value turnover reached P7.70 billion. Decliners outnumbered advancers at 112 to 72, while 42 issues were unchanged.

“This morning, we saw a technical rebound from bargain hunting. We gained as much as 77 points but in the afternoon session, net foreign selling accelerated or intensified, and local investors failed to support the index,” said Victor Felix, an analyst at AB Capital.

Felix said net foreign selling reached P1.3 billion, continuing Nov. 11 and 14’s momentum.

Luis Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital, said the decline in the local index could be attributed to the “disappointing” third quarter earnings of major players.

Share prices of Jollibee Food Corp, in particular, closed almost 10 percent lower due to the slowdown in the company’s growth in the third quarter.

Limlingan added that uncertainties over the presidency of Donald Trump  continued to plague the international market.

“I think the market is taking cues from the international markets. Overnight, in the US, it is still rather flatish. In Asia-Pacific, some markets are trading mixed and I think we followed suit,” he said.

He added the market may have also been affected as some investors are rebalancing their share portfolio, while some are still waiting for GDP data for the third quarter.

Meanwhile, the peso recovered slightly yesterday gaining three centavos after depreciating for seven straight trading sessions.

The peso opened stronger at 49.13 to $1 but hit an intra-day low of 49.27 and an intra-day high of 49.05.

The local currency eventually recovered and closed at 49.17 to $1 from Monday’s near eight-year low of 49.20 to $1. Trading volume was lower at $600.9 million from Monday’s $661.85 million.

The peso has been weakening against the US dollar since Nov. 4 after the US Federal Reserve hinted at a possible rate hike before the end of the year.

The shocking victory of US president-elect Donald Trump aggravated the uncertainties amid his campaign pronouncements on trade, immigration, security, among others.

Analysts and traders are convinced the peso would gradually recover and is not expected to touch the 50 to $1 level.

“I believe this is temporary and the peso will recover. I don’t think the peso will go beyond 50 to a greenback, and we maintain our forecast of 49.02 versus the dollar by year-end,” Bank of the Philippine Islands associate economist Nicholas Antonio Mapa said.