Local bourse sinks further

The local bourse ended farther away from the 7,900 level on Monday as investor sentiment was marred by news that Chinese officials cut their trip to the United States short, leaving earlier than what was initially scheduled.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) was down 0.05 percent or 3.60 points to end at 7,867.51 while the wider All Shares dropped by 0.23 percent or 11.11 points to close at 4,761.24.

“Shares continued to slide, but just gradually lower today after China trade officials cut their visit to the US short, putting a damper on hopes of resolving trade differences between the two nations anytime soon,” Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said.

A delegation of Chinese officials on Friday abruptly canceled hastily-scheduled visits to farms in Nebraska and Montana. While mid-level trade talks continued uninterrupted in Washington, the visits’ sudden cancelation spooked investors.

The Chinese officials’ early departure raised eyebrows among investors especially after US President Trump’s remarks on Friday seemed to dampen plans for an early trade pact.

Papa Securities sales associate Gabriel Jose Perez said it “seems like the index was hit by Monday blues as well as it closed flatly.”

AAA Equities head of research Christopher Mangun, meanwhile, pegged the main support at 7,750 level.

US markets were down with Nasdaq taking the biggest hit at 0.80 percent. Dow Jones and S&P 500 dropped by 0.59 percent and 0.49 percent, respectively.

In Asia, Tokyo climbed by 0.16 percent and Seoul inched up by 0.01 percent.

Shanghai fell 0.98 percent, Hong Kong skidded by 0.81 percent, Jakarta slipped 0.36 percent, Singapore slid 0.50 percent and Thailand decreased by 0.36 percent.

In Manila, all sectors ended in the red except for property which surged by 1.18 percent.

Over 3.35 billion shares amounting to P5.86 billion were traded.

Losers led winners, 149-57, while 45 issues were unchanged.

WITH A REPORT FROM AFP