SHARES finished in negative territory on Thursday as investors took profit from the previous days’ rallies, where the main index hit fresh record highs.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index dropped 0.60% or 50.04 points to 8,294.01.

The broader all-shares index dropped 0.47% or 23.19 points to 4,884.65.

“It’s just profit taking because we reached a new high,” Summit Securities, Inc. President Harry G. Liu said in a phone interview on Thursday.

At this point, Mr. Liu said volume has not expanded enough and markets may start consolidating.

“Philippine markets flatlined finally after consecutive days of breaking records,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message.

“Some inflationary concerns were also raised as the September tally of 3.4% came above the 3.1% median estimates. This prompted further speculation of a rate hike by our BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) towards the end of the year. Although the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 cling to positive territory, internal readings of the broader market of stocks have already turned negative,” Mr. Limlingan added.

The Philippine Statistics Authority reported yesterday that prices of widely used goods and services increased by 3.4% last month, jumping from 3.1% in August and the 2.3% logged a year ago. It settled higher than market expectations at 3.2%, but still well within the 2.8-3.6% forecast range given by the BSP last week.

“The BSP remains of the view that the inflation environment will continue to be manageable over the policy horizon after taking into account the latest assessment of price levels in September,” BSP Governor Nestor A. Espenilla, Jr. said in a statement.

Meanwhile, US stocks edged up to extend their run of record closing highs on Wednesday as data on the services sector added to signs of strength in the economy and prospects for earnings.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 19.97 points or 0.09% to end at 22,661.64, the S&P 500 gained 3.16 points or 0.12% to 2,537.74 and the Nasdaq Composite added 2.91 points, or 0.04% to 6,534.63.

Sector counters were mostly down. Mining and oil plunged 2.18% or 304.48 points to 13,265.57; holding firms declined 0.94% or 80.16 points to 8,372.82; property went down 0.64% or 25.06 points to 3,884.31; and industrials dropped 0.09% or 11.05 points to 11,169.64.

Meanwhile, services rose 0.26% or 4.57 points to 1,751.65 and financials expanded by just 0.18 point to 2,002.91.

Losers outnumbered advancers at 106 to 90, while 50 issues remained unchanged.

Value turnover rose to P6.76 billion from Wednesday’s P6.55 billion as P1.25 billion shares changed hands.

Foreign outflows continued and netted at P41.96 million, although down from net selling of P426.39 million in the previous day. — J.C. Lim with Reuters

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