Roundup: Philippine bourse further slackened on China's currency devaluation

The Philippine stock market further slackened on Thursday as investors continue to grapple with the news of China's yuan devaluation.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index fell by 0.74 percent or 55.63 points to 7,439.80, while the broader all-share index slipped by 0.81 percent or 34.78 points to 4,263.77.

Trading volume reached 1.5 billion shares worth 8.05 billion pesos (174.11 million U.S. dollars) with 111 stocks declining, 53 advancing, and 45 were unchanged.

Of the six counters, only the financials bucked the trend, posting a 0.18 percent gain. "Sentiments are still locked on China's yuan devaluation, due to fears regional central banks might need to adjust accordingly," online brokerage 2TradeAsia.com said in its daily stock market comment.

China on Wednesday stunned the financial community following a surprising move to devalue its currency against the dollar, a move which 2TradeAsia.com said could be a defensive approach pending the timing of the US Federal Reserve's benchmark interest rate hike this year.

China's move also came at a time when economic figures in the world's second largest economy indicate a slowdown in the its growth and after the crash of its stock market to historic lows.

While the move will help Chinese export become more competitive, it has put foreign-made products at a disadvantage as the latter has now become more expensive.

As a result, 2TradeAsia.com said it expects funds flow in the Philippine local stock market to remain volatile as fund managers re-balance their portfolios. "Wait for the selling tide to abate,"it advises investors.

Stocks in the 30-company index were mostly down. These include Ayala Corp., Manila Electric Co. and Universal Robina Corp. Endi