Ghost month woes depress PHL shares

Jitters about the Chinese ghost month drove Philippine shares lower anew on Friday, with a bit of help from weak corporate earnings.

 

With the start of the Hungry Ghost Festival falling on August 14 this year, the market was “ominous,” Luis A. Limlingan, business head at Regina Capital Development Corp. said in a phone interview.

 

“Managers are starting to take their break and they’re selling shares first just to make sure. They’re also buying on speculation, selling on news,” he said.

The ghost month, which is the seventh month in the Lunar calendar, is a Chinese supertitious belief that the gates of hell are open around this time of the year and so the spirits of the netherworld are free to roam the face of the earth. It's also considered not the best time for investors to make big-time decisions. 

 

Limlingan noted that the lower-than-expected corporate earnings for the second quarter helped to enhance the market's gloom.

 

The bellweather PSEi shed 31.36 points or 0.42 percent to 7,408.44. The broader All Shares dropped 18.78 points or 0.44 percent to 4,244.99.

 

Some 1.449 billion shares, valued at P7.169 billion, were traded. Losers outpaced winners, 103 to 62, while 50 issues were unchanged.

 

The short-term outlook is bearish, Limlingan noted, even if the market will to consolidate with the 7,400 to 7,500 range on the PSEi. – VS, GMA News