As if paying tribute to the 30th anniversary of statesman Ferdinand E. Marcos’ declaration of Martial Law, today’s market ended with almost all stock market indices going down, with the notable exception of the mining and oil sector, with a slightly upward growth of 0.535% from yesterday’s slump. The PSE index closed in today, September 21, 2011, at 4,204.29, 0.368% further downward from yesterday’s index value.

The far-reaching implications of a downgraded Italian debt rating, coupled with increased fears of a Greek debt meltdown continue to bring a wave of uncertainty to Philippine equities trade. In the same light, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has also brought down growth expectations for the Philippines in light of the decline of Western economies as well as the lower growth numbers in the first half of 2011. The World Bank pegged its gross domestic product (GDP) forecast for the Philippines to 4.7% for 2011 and 4.9% for 2012 from its previous expectation of 5% GDP growth.

A slowdown of economic growth may also signal lowered expectations for the Philippine economy.

Source: Philstock Equities