PHILIPPINE STOCKS extended their losses on Tuesday as investors preferred to stay on the sidelines amid the tariff development in the US and as they await earnings of large caps.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 0.52% or 31.81 points to close at 6,064.16. The broader all-share index lost 0.39% or 14.55 points to 3,640.45.

“Trading on the local bourse remained lackluster as investors mostly stayed on sidelines ahead of key US data and local large-cap earnings releases later this week,” Alfred Benjamin R. Garcia, research head at AP Securities, Inc., said in a Viber message.

Astro C. Del Castillo, managing director at First Grade Finance, Inc., said the local market “remains in the road to calvary.” “Some positive news today was basically shrugged off by investors as the market continues to be hounded by uncertainties in the domestic front and international arena.”

Rastine Mackie Mercado, research director at China Bank Securities Corp., said investor sentiment “remained fragile given US tariff developments and the announcement of fresh US investment curbs on China.”

“This may have been a contributing factor to sustained net foreign fund outflows seen today,” he said in a Viber message.

Last week, US President Donald J. Trump said he wanted to impose 25% tariffs on imports of cars, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors, Reuters reported.

Back home, almost all sectoral indexes fell. Holding firms fell 1.57% or 80.82 points to 5,048.96; while mining and oil lost 0.89% or 73.64 points to 8,200.61. Services shed 0.38% or 7.5 points to 1,956.63, while the industrial index dropped 0.33% or 29.64 points to 8,718.81.

Properties added 0.08% or 1.98 points to 2,218.91, while financials gained 0.05% or 1.32 points to 2,287.48.

Value turnover rose to P5.17 billion involving 634.67 million shares, from P4.47 billion involving 1.38 billion stocks a day earlier.

Decliners outnumbered advancers 125 to 63, while 57 shares were unchanged. Net foreign selling fell to P563.8 million from P632.57 million on Monday.

Mr. Mercado expects the market to react to the release of US consumer confidence data later on Tuesday, Manila time, in which a further softening in optimism could cause investor concerns over growth. — Sheldeen Joy Talavera