MANILA, Philippines — The local stock market slipped below the 6,500 level on cautious trading, finishing the week in the red.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index slipped by 0.23 percent or 15.25 points to close at 6,496.32.
The broader All Shares index also finished in the negative territory, dipping by 0.06 percent or 2.44 points to 3,754.85.
Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said the PSEi corrected slightly lower for the second day in three trading sessions after cautious signals on future rate cuts by some officials of the US Federal Reserve.
“We saw cautious trading, with the market pulling back to sub-6,500 levels ahead of the US unemployment data which can give clues on the likely trajectory of the Fed’s monetary easing,” AP Securities research head Alfred Benjamin Garcia said.
Net value turnover stood at P3.3 billion, slightly lower from the previous day’s P3.5 billion.
“Value turnover has been tepid the past few days, but this should pick up next week as the market prices in the latest economic data,” Garcia said.
All sectors closed the session lower, except for financials, which increased by 0.55 percent.
The holdings firms index was the biggest loser, declining by 0.67 percent, followed by mining and oil with a 0.4-percent decrease.
Market breadth was positive with advancers edging out in a close contest, 98 to 96, while 55 issues were unchanged.
ICTSI was yesterday’s top traded company, inching down by 0.10 percent to P399 per share, followed by AREIT, which climbed by 2.64 percent to P40.80.