Market extends losses as US tariff deadline nears

MANILA, Philippines —  The local stock market extended its decline as investors geared up for US President Donald Trump’s Aug. 1 tariff deadline.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell for the fifth consecutive session yesterday, inching down by 0.11 percent or 7.19 points to 6,318.23.

The broader All Shares index also posted a slight dip of 0.09 percent or 3.49 points to close at 3,776.59.

“The PSEi slid down as investors are watching if there would be still further developments on the upcoming tariff deadline on Aug. 1 as the country reported higher exports for the first half of the year,” Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital said.

“Moreover, companies are still releasing earnings report and this will probably remain as one of the sentiment drivers of the market for the next few weeks,” Limlingan said.

On Wall Street, Limlingan said that major indexes, including the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite, closed lower on Tuesday, marking a pullback from recent highs.

In the local market, meanwhile, most sectoral gauges were in the red, led by financials, which slipped by 0.59 percent.

Property and industrial indexes managed to book gains of 0.6 percent and 0.29 percent, respectively.

Total value turnover thinned to P4.66 billion from the previous day’s P6.86 billion.

Market breadth remained negative as decliners edged out advancers, 95 to 87, while 62 issues were unchanged.

DigiPlus was again the most actively traded stock, with the company continuing its recent winning streak, increasing by 0.84 percent to P35.95 per share.

ICTSI and BDO followed, but their stock prices fell by 0.31 percent and 1.01 percent, respectively, to P445.60 and P147.