Stocks end lower after rising in morning trading

April 4, 2018

Stocks reversed course to end lower on Wednesday, with the Philippine Stock Exchange index falling below the 8,000-point mark.

The index closed at 7,997.67 points, down 51.05, after being up in morning trading. In the broader market, there were 107 decliners, 103 gainers and 46 issues unchanged.

Volume reached 1.67 billion shares worth P6.93 billion from Tuesday's 2.33 billion valued at P6.11 billion. Foreigners were net buyers for the first time this month, as they purchased P3.57 billion against selling of P3.51 billion.

Among most traded shares were SM Investment Corp., down 1.54 percent to P960; Metrobank, down 0.53 percent to P85.05 and Jollibee, 3.85 percent down to P285.

The peso closed at P52.12 against the US dollar from P52.08 the previous day. Volume at the Bankers Association of the Philippines reached $504.4 million from $657.5 million. DMS