Stocks dwindle in ‘dull’ trading
The local bourse shied away from the 8,000 mark again, but was able to stay afloat the 7,900 level as investors await the results of the Federal Reserve (Fed) meeting.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dwindled by 0.21 percent or 16.94 points to end at 7,915.29, while the wider All Shares dipped by 0.16 percent or 7.77 points to close at 4,786.43.
“Investors remained cautious for another session as the US Federal Reserve began its two-day monetary policy meeting,” Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said.
Global markets have spent most of this month rising on bets that central banks, led by the Fed, will move to a softer monetary policy to offset a slowdown in most economies exacerbated by the China-US trade war.
The Fed, which is set to meet this week, is expected to announce a further reduction in borrowing costs following weak jobs figures and signs of slowing in the economy.
Papa Securities sales associate Gabriel Jose Perez shared the sentiment, saying “it was another dull day for the index as the market waited on the Fed’s decision.”
He pegged the resistance level at 8,000 mark for the rest of the week.
US markets recovered, with the Nasdaq taking the lead at 0.40 percent. This was followed by S&P 500 and Dow Jones at 0.26 percent and 0.13 percent, respectively.
In Asia, Shanghai surged 0.25 percent, Seoul was up 0.41 percent and Jakarta rose 0.41 percent.
Meanwhile, Tokyo dipped 0.18 percent, Hong Kong dropped 0.13 percent, Singapore slipped 0.43 percent and Thailand slid 0.55 percent.
In Manila, all sectors were mixed. Financials, mining and oil and holding firms were up while the rest slipped.
Volume turnover stood at 451.06 million amounting to P6.74 billion.
Losers outmatched winners, 107-90, while 43 issues were unchanged.
WITH REPORTS FROM AFP