Index ends lower on blue chip selloff

Stocks ended mostly lower yesterday as investors sold down their blue chip holdings amid mixed signals from Wall Street, traders said.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index or PSEi closed at 5,931.33, down 22.11 points or 0.37 percent. The broader All Shares index also ended in negative territory, down by 4.36 points or 0.12 percent to end at 3,544.24.

Wall Street ended a lackluster session Tuesday following talks between the United States and China on the status of a deal meant to work as truce in their trade war.

Markets are getting “a mixed bag” of signals, such as relatively positive US home sales but a disappointing read on consumer confidence, as fears of more waves of COVID-19 infections persist, said Hayaki Narita of the Asia & Oceania Treasury Department at Mizuho Bank.

Analysts said traders continue to dump their holdings of blue chips as economic uncertainties weighed down by the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic continue to turn off investors.

“The PSEi continued lower again as investors unloaded shares in large-cap blue chip issues. Gains in several blue chips failed to lift the whole index,” said Chris Mangun of AAA Southeast Equities.

He noted that there is a general lack of confidence from investors. The PSEi is in a clear downtrend in the short term and may continue lower to test support at 5,690 before recovering, he added.

By: Iris Gonzales (The Philippine Star )

Source: Peso Economics