Stocks slip as inflation rises; peso strengthens

MANILA – The main equities index slipped on Tuesday following the uptick of domestic inflation rate last March to 4 percent but the peso gained against the US dollar.The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dropped by 0.10 percent, or 7.14 points, to 7,156.07 points.All Shares slipped by 0.003 percent, or 0.11 points, to 3,797.43 points.Most of the sectoral gauges also fell during the day namely Property, 0.59 percent; Industrial, 0.24 percent; Holding Firms, 0.16 percent; and Services, 0.08 percent.On the other hand, Financials and Mining and Oil gained by 0.85 percent and 0.10 percent, respectively.Volume reached 1.12 billion shares amounting to PHP4.2 billion.Advancers led decliners at 88 to 82, while 57 shares were unchanged.Although inflation jumped from last February’s 3 percent on an annual basis, Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corporation (RCDC) head of sales, said this change “remained with the accepted range of many analysts, giving less pressure on the BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) to apply the brakes and raise rates.”“Prior to the release (of the inflation report), BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno acknowledged that high inflation was indeed back with a vengeance, but he also noted that the growth in prices in the Philippines was more manageable compared to other countries,” he said.Meanwhile, the local currency gained against the greenback after finishing the trade at 51.19 compared to its 51.38 close a day ago.It started the day weaker at 51.32 from the previous session’s 51.6.It traded between 51.355 and 51.14, resulting in an average of 51.262.Volume reached USD1.3 billion, higher than the previous session’s USD1.21 billion. (PNA)