PSEi drops sharply ahead of Fed meet

Local shares slid on Thursday, driving the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) below 7,600 points as traders sought to collect profits ahead of next week’s decision by the US Federal Reserve on an interest rate adjustment, analysts said.

The PSEi fell by 2.41 percent or 186.14 points, with nearly 130 points of the drop coming in the last few minutes of Thursday’s session to close at 7,536.65. The wider All Shares index fared better, but still lost 1.59 percent or 73.22 points to end the day at 4,520.07.