US recession fears caused another round of sell-offs Friday, with the local bourse closing just slightly above the 6,600 level.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) lost 88.53 points, or 1.32 percent, to close at 6,605.30, while the broader all-shares index shed 32.28 points, or 0.89 percent, to settle at 3,596.90.
Analysts said the PSEi declined along with US and regional stocks on growing fears of potential recession over the prolonged high interest rate environment.
They said while the US Federal Reserve signaled possible rate cut in its next policy meeting next month, the renewed concerns on the health of the US economy dampened investor sentiment.
“Given some dismal economic data in the US, investors were worried that the Federal Reserve might now be late in easing monetary policy potentially leading to a recession,” Philstocks Financial Inc. research analyst Claire Alviar said.
All sectors ended in the red with services, posting the biggest loss of 1.97 percent. This was followed by financials, declining 1.67 percent and property, dropping 1.11 percent. Value turnover reached P4.98 billion.
Foreign investors were net sellers with outflows reaching P189.04 million.
Among the 30-PSEi member companies, only six stocks ended in the green. Globe Telecom Inc. jumped 2.59 percent after e-wallet brand GCash obtained fresh funding from Ayala Corp. and Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.
Meanwhile, the peso climbed on expected rate cuts by the Fed in August. It closed 58.08 against the US dollar Friday, up from 58.33 Thursday.
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