Local markets slip on negative news overseas

The PSEi shed 0.06 percent, or 4.85 points, to 7,670.62 points. (Shutterstock Photo)

MANILA — Encouraging news about the further decline of local inflation last February to 3.8 percent from month-ago’s 4.4 percent was offset by the drop in S&P 500 in the US, resulting in the slide of the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) Tuesday.

The PSEi shed 0.06 percent, or 4.85 points, to 7,670.62 points.

All Shares contracted by 0.17 percent, or 8.07 points, to 4,740.90 points.

It was a balance among the sectors after Property, Mining and Oil, and Industrial fell by 0.81 percent, 0.75 percent, and 0.07 percent, respectively.

On the other hand, Services rose 1.15 percent and was followed by Financials, 0.17 percent, and Holding Firms, 0.08 percent.

Volume totaled 3.55 billion shares amounting to PHP6.62 billion.

BPI Global Market Research said sentiments during the day were dampened by the Chinese government’s lower economic growth forecast for 2019, putting it at between 6 percent and 6.5 percent against the 6.6 percent print last year.

The peso, meanwhile, ended the day at 52.24 from 51.72 a day ago.

It opened the day at 51.8, little changed from Monday’s 51.765 start.

It traded between 51.79 and 52.26, resulting in an average of 52.037.

Amid the strengthening of the greenback, trading was robust with volume surging to USD1.48 billion from USD 1.1 billion a day ago.