PHL shares go down as US-China talks continue

PHILIPPINE STOCKS dropped anew on Tuesday due to cautious trading as the United States and China were set to continue their trade negotiations.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dropped by 0.91% or 58.46 points to close at 6,347.67, while the broader all shares index went down by 0.74% or 28.09 points to 3,758.50.

“Philippine shares fell back below 6,400 over the anxiety regarding the US-China dialogue and expectations of a rate cut from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in next week’s policy meeting,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message.

“Investors exited the local market, taking a cautious stance, amid the lack of fresh leads,” Philstocks Financial Inc. Research Manager Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message.

Trade talks between the United States and China were set to extend to a second day, with tentative signs that tensions between the world’s two largest economies could be easing, Reuters reported.

US President Donald J. Trump put a positive spin on the talks, which wrapped up for the night on Monday and were set to resume on Tuesday.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer were set to meet for the second day with their Chinese counterparts.

Any progress in the negotiations is likely to provide relief to markets given that Mr. Trump’s often shifting tariff announcements and swings in Sino-US ties have undermined the world’s two biggest economies, disrupted supply chains and threaten to hobble global growth.

All sectoral indices closed lower on Tuesday. Financials went down by 1.4% or 33.30 points to 2,330.79; property sank by 1.27% or 28.96 points to 2,241.80; mining and oil declined by 1.02% or 97.64 points to 9,425.51; services retreated by 0.8% or 17.86 points to 2,211.36; holding firms dropped by 0.64% or 35.59 points to 5,465.99; and industrials decreased by 0.31% or 28.02 points to 8,885.98.

Mr. Tantiangco said the financials sector was the biggest loser following the release of data showing that the Philippine banking system’s nonperforming loan ratio rose to a five-month high of 3.39% in April from 3.3% in March.

“LT Group, Inc. led the index gainers, climbing 2.38% to P12.92. Converge ICT Solutions, Inc. was the main index laggard, falling 5.14% to P20.30,” he added.

Value turnover went up to P9.39 billion on Tuesday with 1.45 billion shares traded from the P5.07 billion with 1.08 billion issues exchanged on Monday.

Decliners outnumbered advancers, 128 versus 65, while 49 names were unchanged.

Net foreign selling increased to P525.73 million on Tuesday from P205.02 million on Monday. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave with Reuters