Philippine equity trade remains sluggish

Several uncertainties from inside and outside the county prolonged the downtrend of the Philippine equities market, pulling the benchmark index down to the 5,700-point level after a slight recovery.

In a phone interview, Harry Liu, president of Summit Securities Inc., said that the market still suffers from some local and global factors, including the looming US Federal Reserve tapering of its bond-buying program, the record power rate hike by Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), and the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda.