Cautious investors await BSP’s policy meeting
Investors are cautiously waiting for the result of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’s (BSP) incoming policy meeting.
This comes as the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) slipped 0.46%, or 31.65, to close at 6,818.99 yesterday, August 17. Meanwhile, the broader All Shares Index dipped 0.14%, or 5.2 points, to 3,619.88.
BSP Governor Felipe Medalla said that the 6.4% inflation rate last month raised the possibility of a 50-basis point interest rate increase, apart from another increase later this year.
Medalla added that inflation would likely breach the government’s target range of two to four per cent by year-end.
PSE subsectors were mixed as the industrial, property, financials, and services pulled back while mining, oil, and holding firms gained. Overall, there were 117 advancers against 94 decliners, while 34 companies closed unchanged.
BSP’s policy meeting results will likely be released today, August 18.
