PSEi eases lower still after Fed rate hike

The US Federal Reserve decision to raise interest rates weighed anew on Philippine share prices Friday.

"It's the continuation of negative reaction due to the Fed rate hike and net foreign selling," Victor Felix, equity analyst at AB Capital Securities Inc., told GMA News Online.

The benchmark PSEi shed 4.60 points or 0.07 percent to 6,850.71. The broader All Shares declined by 1.93 points or 0.05 percent to 4,159.42.

The policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday (early Thursday Philippine time) decided to raise by 25 basis points the key federal funds rate to a range of 0.5 to 0.75 percent and flagged more increases next year.

Data from the Philippine Stock Exchange showed foreign selling reached P7.452 billion while foreign buying amounted to P6.514 billion, recording a net foreign selling of P937.825 million.

However, Felix took note that domestic players helped keep the market from a steeper fall. "The slight depreciation today shows that local investors are supporting the market."

More than 1.636 billion shares valued at P9.554 billion, changed hands. Decliners led advancers, 83 to 94, and 43 issues were unchanged.

Week-on-week, the PSEi shed 192.45 points or 2.73 percent from 7,043.16 on December 9. Year-to-date, the bellwether has lost 101.38 points or 1.46 percent from 6,952.09 on December 29, the last trading day of 2015. — VS, GMA News