Stocks slip anew on economic growth concerns

The Philippine stock market experienced a third consecutive decline on concerns surrounding the country's economic growth for the third quarter. The Philippine Stock Exchange index fell by 0.5 percent, or 29.23 points, to close at 5,814.56 points. The broader All Shares index also ended in negative territory at 3,253.35, down by 0.41 percent or 13.36 points.

Financial experts attributed the downward trend to renewed worries over the Philippine economy's growth, citing potential delays in public infrastructure projects and sluggish household spending as contributing factors. Additionally, high oil prices, rising local treasury yields, and a weak Philippine peso weighed on the market, according to Philstocks Financial Inc. Market analysts pointed to hawkish signals from some Federal Reserve officials, which could lead to further interest rate hikes, as another reason for the market's decline.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas may consider an off-cycle rate hike before its rate-setting meeting on October 22 to maintain healthy interest rate differentials and stabilize the peso against the dollar. The market's decline also occurred ahead of the Mynt initial public offering in October, which could draw some market funds away.

Unlike other sectors, service providers were the only ones to record a gain, with an increase of 0.86 percent. Among local counters, all stocks declined except for the services sector, with holdings firms experiencing the most significant drop at 2.17 percent, followed by mining and oil, which fell by one percent. Trading volume totaled P6.71 billion, a slight decrease from the previous day's P6.87 billion.

Decliners outnumbered advancers, with 99 stocks falling compared to 90 that rose, while 58 issues remained unchanged.