—Inquirer file photo
The local stock market continued to fall on Wednesday and closed below 6,500 points for the first time in four months as anxious investors awaited the outcome of this week’s interest rate setting meeting.
At the close, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) fell 0.5% or 32.63 points to 6,469.08.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index has fallen for six consecutive trading days. The last time the index fell to 6,400 points was in August when the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) cut its policy rate for the first time in nearly four years.
Likewise, the broader All Ordinaries index fell 0.28 percent, or 10.21 points, to close at 3,700 points.
Stock exchange data showed that 1.39 billion shares worth 5.96 billion pesos changed hands. Foreigners once again exited the market, with total outflows reaching 487.26 million pesos.
The announcement comes ahead of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the Federal Reserve’s rate-setting meetings. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas will announce its latest monetary policy stance on Thursday, December 19.
Japhet Tantiangco, head of research at Philstocks Financial Inc., added that traders are also focusing on the current weakness of the peso as it tests the 59 level against the dollar.
International Container Terminal Services Inc. — the most traded stock, up 0.93% to 389 pesos — led gains in the services subsector.
Meanwhile, declines in BDO Unibank Inc. (down 4.03% to P143) and Bank of the Philippine Islands (down 1.95% to P126) weighed on banking stocks.
Other actively traded stocks included SM Prime Holdings Inc., which fell 3.09% to P25.10; Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., which rose 1.63% to P75; Ayala Land Inc., which rose 0.97% to P25.95; and PH Resorts Group Holdings Inc., which rose 5.36% to P0.59.
SM Investments Corp rose 0.11% to P891, Universal Robina Corp gained 2.68% to P76.5 and Jollibee Foods Corp was flat at P260.