INVESTORS succumbed to profit taking on Wednesday due to the lack of significant catalysts to drive the market upward.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index slumped 0.47% or 39.57 points to 8,358.47.

The broader all-shares index dropped 0.30% or 14.83 points to 4,907.88.

“The market technically is just consolidating between the record high and support level at 8,300,” Summit Securities, Inc., President Harry G. Liu said in a phone interview, noting that the finalization of the tax reform package, ongoing infrastructure developments, and the upcoming Association of Southeast Asian Nations gathering may prop up the index soon.

“Philippine markets gave in to profit taking while US Stocks finished slightly higher last Tuesday,” said Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan in a mobile phone message.

Stocks around the world rose on Tuesday as Wall Street eked out record highs ahead of earnings season, while US Treasury prices pared gains after Catalonia’s leader allowed for talks with Madrid even as he proclaimed independence from Spain.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.31% to 22,830 points, its eighth gain in the past 10 sessions, while the S&P 500 ended the day 0.23% higher at 2,551 points.

“Investors are taking money off the table to wait for more hints on [the] next movement of the [Federal Reserve] with the next rate hike,” Mr. Limlingan added.

Back home, sector counters were mostly down. Industrials plummeted 1.16% or 129.60 points to 10,967.48; services fell 0.91% or 15.89 points to 1,729.76; mining and oil went down 0.81% or 113.19 points to 13,733.64; holding firms slid 0.45% or 39.13 points to 8,587.15; and property declined 0.31% or 12.22 points to 3,856.96. Only financials posted gains, climbing 0.52% or 10.61 points to 2,027.67.

Decliners trumped advancers at 97 to 90 while 56 issues were unchanged.

Value turnover expanded to P11.63 billion from P7.17 billion the previous day, with 894.07 million shares changing hands.

Foreigners dumped shares anew on Wednesday to log net sales worth P1.3 billion, reversing the net buying worth P496.23 million seen on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Southeast Asian shares were mixed. Indonesian shares fell on Wednesday as foreign investors turned net sellers ahead of the release of the US Federal Reserve’s September meeting minutes.

Indonesian shares slipped as much as 0.8% to their lowest in nearly two weeks, set for a second day of losses.

The Fed minutes due later in the day may bolster views of a December rate hike and provide clues on the pace of US monetary policy tightening.

Malaysian shares slipped 0.3%, hurt by losses in telecom and consumer stocks,

In contrast with the broader trend, Thai stocks climbed as much as 0.7% to a fresh 24-year high. — with Reuters

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