MANILA, Philippines — Concerns over the rising consumer prices following the higher than expected inflation rate for February dampened trading at the stock market yesterday, analysts said.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) lost 25.95 points, or 0.30 percent, to finish at 8,360.22 while the broader All Shares index lost 10.17 points, or 0.20 percent, to end at 5,033.72.
Except for the Services counter, the rest of the indexes closed in negative territory.
Total value turnover reach P8.61 billion. Market breadth was negative, 122 to 93 while 45 issues were unchanged
Net foreign selling was higher yesterday at P737 million, compared to Monday’s P290 million.
The government reported yesterday that inflation reached a three-year high of 4.5 percent in February under the non-rebased index, higher than most estimates at 4.2 percent but within the central bank’s 4.0-4.8 percent projection for the month.
Papa Securities deputy head of Research Arabelle Maghirang said the index traded in the red because of high inflation.
“The index traded in the red throughout the day due to higher-than-expected inflation of 4.5 percent in February, higher than consensus’ 4.2 percent, and the BSP’s own 2018 target of 4.3 percent,” she said.
She said the latest inflation data raises the possibility of a rate hike in the upcoming Monetary Policy meeting on March 22.
“In contrast, other Asian markets rallied as fears of a potential trade war eased. We think the index will likely trade sideways with a major support at the 8,050 level, near the low of 8,051 last December,” Maghirang said.