Local equities barely moved on Monday, April 23, as investors chose to stay on the sidelines due to lack of leads.
The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index ended 7.25 points lower or 0.09% to 7,719.47 on Monday. The broader all-shares index also fell 0.22% or 10.20 points to 4,677.09.
“Philippine markets began on a quiet note as the market traded almost unchanged while value turnover was nearly half of the average. There were no major economic data releases last Friday, giving minimal guidance to the direction for investors,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan said.
All sectoral indices moved to negative territory, led by the mining and oil sector which dropped 1.4% or 149.65 points to 10,532.72. Services went down 0.33% or 5.10 points to 1,564.14, while holding firms gave up 0.25% or 18.99 points to 7,631.93.
Property dipped 0.1% or 3.67 points to 3,587.69; financials slipped 0.08% or 1.57 points to 1,993.32; while industrial closed 0.07% or 7.74 points lower to 11,076.60.
Some 1.04 billion issues switched hands, resulting to a value turnover of P5.48 billion, lower than Friday’s P6.716-billion turnover.
“The market traded sideways for the majority of the day after some initial strength in the morning. This may have been due to some optimism following Friday’s green session…Investors may be waiting for the market’s next move as some only stood on the sidelines today,” Papa Securities Corp. Trader Gabriel F. Perez said in an email.
Decliners trumped advancers, 103 to 88, while 57 issues were unchanged.
Foreign investors remained sellers, with net foreign outflows recorded at P308.2 million, slightly lower than the P381.15 million posted last Friday. — Arra B. Francia
