THE MAIN INDEX ended two straight days of gains on Friday, as reports on slowing growth in the world’s second-biggest economy weighed and investors took profits.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gave up 45.32 points or 0.57% to end 7,885.23 — still up 0.45% on the week and marking the second weekly climb — while the all-shares index dropped 15.89 points or 0.33% to finish 4,755.04.

“Weak growth data from China caused some concern among market participants of global economic slowdown given its trading dominance in the region,” PNB Securities, Inc. President Manuel Antonio G. Lisbona said in a mobile phone message.

News wires on Friday reported that China’s economy grew six percent in the third quarter, marking the slowest expansion in nearly three decades on weaker investments and factory output.

“The market also looked ripe for profit-taking as the market moved up around 380 points in the past two weeks on the back of some reentry by foreign funds,” Mr. Lisbona added.

For Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan, “[s]hares traded negative as investors realigned with the latest FTSE rebalancing came out today.”

Reuters reported that major Wall Street indices gained on Thursday, riding optimism from the United Kingdom’s agreement with the European Union on the former’s exit from the group and upbeat statements from Beijing and Washington that again fueled hopes for an eventual agreement on an end to their trade war. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Nasdaq Composite Index the S&P 500 increased by 0.09% to 27,025.88; 0.4% to 8,156.85; and 0.28% to 2,997.95, respectively.

Many major Asian bourses, however, lost on Friday: Japan’s Topix by 0.13% (though the Nikkei 225 gained 0.18%), the Shanghai SE Composite by 1.32%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng by 0.48%, South Korea’s KOSPI by 0.83%, Singapore’s Straits Times Index by 0.38% and the MSCI Asia Apex 50 by 0.36%.

India’s S&P BSE Sensex on the other hand gained 0.57%.

Only one of the six sectoral indices at home gained: services, by 4.51 points or 0.29% to 1,530.25.

The rest fell: industrials by 144.08 points or 1.33% to 10,643.01, holding firms by 47.12 points or 0.61% to 7,676.89, mining & oil by 49.31 points or 0.55% to 8,907.35, financials by 7.08 points or 0.38% to 1,841.26 and property by 8.73 points or 0.2% to 4,177.25.

Friday saw 830.779 million shares worth P5.467 billion change hands, compared to Thursday’s 715.388 million shares worth P5.55 billion.

Stocks that gained narrowly edged out those that lost 89 to 83, while 46 others ended flat.

Friday’s list of 20 most active stocks saw 12 that lost, seven that gained and one that ended flat: First Gen Corp. at P25 apiece.

Those that gained were led by DMCI Holdings, Inc., which increased by 3.64% to P9.10 apiece; Puregold Price Club, Inc., which rose by 3.25% to P41.30 and Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. which added 3.05% to P70.90 each.

Those that ended the day in red included BDO Unibank, Inc., which gave up 2.61% to P145.60 apiece; Manila Electric Co., which dropped 2.28% to P360.60; D&L Industries, Inc. which lost 2.35% to P8.30; and Jollibee Foods Corp. which shed 2.13% to P230 each.

Overseas investors turned bearish after two straight days of net buying, ending Friday with P244.465-million net selling that was a reversal from Thursday’s P841.283-million net purchases.

“We are looking at 7,770 as a first support area from which the bulls will have to fight through the 8,000 psychological resistance level,” PNB Securities’ Mr. Lisbona said.

“Otherwise, the market will consolidate between those two levels until earnings season justifies higher valuations.” — Vincent Mariel P. Galang

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