By Arra B. Francia, Senior Reporter

LOCAL SHARES slipped on Thursday as investors decided to stay on the sidelines and take profits amid lingering trade tensions.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) went down 0.14% or 11.04 points to close at 7,804.03, snapping the index’s four-day winning streak. The broader all-shares index likewise dropped 0.26% or 12.59 points to 4,809.26.

“As trade frictions rose, and the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) minutes came out muted, investors remained on the sidelines and even took profit after successive positive sessions,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a text message.

Papa Securities Corp. Sales Associate Gabriel Jose F. Perez said Thursday’s decline served as a technical correction after a four-day rally.

“The index finally corrected after surging for four straight days as it closed in the red… The index initially fell by as much as 50 points at its intraday low, before being bought up at the close,” Mr. Perez said in an e-mail.

Following its ban on Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd., the US government was reported to be considering more export bans on several Chinese surveillance companies. Banned firms will have to secure approval from the US government before it can do business with US companies.

US President Donald J. Trump is also threatening to hike tariffs on another $300 billion worth of Chinese goods following its imposition of higher duties on $250 billion in Chinese imports earlier this month.

The PSEi joined other markets that were rattled by trade concerns between the US and China. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.39% or 100.72 points to 25,776.61, while the S&P 500 index declined 0.28% or 8.09 points to 2,856.27. The Nasdaq Composite index also went down 0.45% or 34.88 points to 7,750.84.

Asian indices were also mostly in negative territory. Japan’s Nikkei 225 plummeted 0.62% or 132.23 points to 21,151.14. The Hang Seng index slumped 1.69% or 467.84 points to 27,238.10, while the Shanghai Composite tumbled 1.36% or 39.19 points to 2,852.52.

Back home, four sectoral indices moved to negative territory led by financials which plunged 0.85% or 14.84 points to 1,712.15, followed by services which retreated 0.54% or 8.99 points to 1,652.67. Industrials shed 0.3% or 35.02 points to 11,362.17, while holding firms dipped 0.1% or 7.96 points to 7,408.30. In contrast, property climbed 0.39% or 16.41 points to 4,228.14, while mining and oil added 0.05% or 3.66 points to 7,232.54.

Some 3.45 billion issues valued at P7.20 billion switched hands, lower than the previous session’s P10.14 billion.

Decliners outpaced advancers, 110 to 87, while 53 names were unchanged.

Net foreign selling slimmed to P177.41 million, much lower than Wednesday’s P3.52 billion net outflow.

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