Local markets end flat Tuesday on US-China trade concerns

FILE: Philippine Stock Exchange Center on Exchange Road, Ortigas Center, Pasig. (Photo By Rsch45 – http://stockstreetblog.com/stock-market-hours/, CC BY 4.0)

MANILA — Both the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) and the Peso ended flat on Tuesday as investors stayed on the sidelines given the trade war concerns and budget issues overseas.

The PSEi ended the day at 7,059.38 points, up by 0.12 percent or 8.56 points.

Landbank market economist Guian Dumalagan said the main gauge’s support level during the day was at 7,000 on the back of US markets being on holiday and on jitters created by the US-China trade stand-off.

Adding to the gloom was the drop in European shares “with Italian banks under heavy pressure as continued worries over a budget clash between Rome and the European Union.

”

With these, the counters registered mixed results, with All Shares down by 0.28 percent, or 12.15 points, to 4,335.69 points.

Most of the counters ended in the red, including Mining and Oil, 1.39 percent; Services, 0.68 percent; Financials, 0.46 percent; and Holding Firms, 0.15 percent.

On the other side are Property and Industrial, which rose by 1.18 percent and 0.92 percent, respectively.

Volume reached 953.28 million shares amounting to PHP4 billion.

Losers led gainers at 103 to 75 while 53 shares were unchanged.

Meanwhile, the Peso ended the day at 54.24 from 54.185 a day ago, which a trader said is as expected due to concerns over US-China trade issues.

For the day, the Peso opened at 54.

16, better than the 54.25 a day ago, trading between 54.1 and its closing level, resulting in an average of 54.166.

Volume reached USD605 million, down from the USD845.04 million on Monday.

The currency pair is seen to trade between 54 and 54.

20 on Wednesday.