Stocks down, peso unchanged at P52:$1 on inflation data

March 6, 2018

Stocks declined on Tuesday following the release of February inflation figures.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index went down by 25.95 points to 8,360.22. In the broader market, there were 122 decliners, 93 gainers and 45 shares unchanged.

Volume reached 4.5 billion shares valued at P8.61 billion from Monday's 7.85 billion shares worth P6,12 billion. Foreigners were net sellers, with P4.68 billion sold and P3.94 billion bought.

Most active shares were led by Bloomberry, up 1.12 percent to P14.46; Ayala Land, down 1.08 percent to P41.20 and SM Investment Corp., down 0.32 percent to P949.

Shares fell as some traders preferred to focus on the February inflation figure of 4.5 percent using the 2008 base year instead of the 2012 base year showing a rate of 3.9 percent. The base rate was changed by the Philippine Statistics Authority on Feb. 22.

The peso closed unchanged at P52 against the US dollar. Volume at the Philippine Dealing System reached $808 million from $565 million. DMS