Philippine Stock Exchange weekly wrap: PSEi logs 4.4% slide as oil jitters hit Manila stocks
Philippine stocks tumbled to close out the week, as the Philippine Stock Exchange index dropped 4.40% to 6,320.41 over the March 2-6 period. Miners and banks took a hit, and foreign investors switched to net selling. Yet, exchange data put the 30-stock PSEi up 4.42% year to date. Stocks slipped as traders in Manila watched for fresh signs of inflation, with the Middle East turmoil feeding into oil costs and complicating the outlook for rates, the peso, and corporate budgets. Headline inflation accelerated to 2.4% in February. Officials singled out energy prices as a major worry, warning they could halt fuel excise taxes if global oil tops $80 a barrel.