AFTER hitting fresh highs this week, Philippine shares closed flat on Friday, as investors chose to stay on the sidelines and reposition their portfolios.

The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index added 0.02% or 1.37 points to close the week at 8,814.62. The all-shares index meanwhile fell 0.05% or 2.66 points to 5,098.75.

“Philippine markets settled flat after a see-saw week as investors begin to re-calibrate their portfolios,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan said.

This comes after the index breached the 8,900 level at the start of the week, with investors reacting to developments on the remaining tax reform measures as part of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law.

Analysts noted this momentary pause would be healthy for the market as it accelerated at a fast pace, already recording a 5% increase from the start of the year.

Wall Street was up on Thursday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average picked up 0.81% or 205.60 points to 25,574.73. The S&P 500 index also gained 0.7% or 19.33 points to 2,767.56, and the Nasdaq Composite index rose 0.81% or 58.21 points.

Most Asian indices tracked lower performances, continuing Thursday’s decline as investors took caution on rising global yields. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 0.24% or 56.61 points to 23,653.82. The MSCI AC Asia Pacific index also dipped 0.26% or 0.47 points to 180.41.

At the Philippine stock market, four sectors ended on positive territory, while two others in closed in the red. The mining and oil sub-index gave up 1.22% or 144.90 points to 11,752.81, while industrials dropped 0.9% or 104.46 points to 11,471.49.

Property meanwhile inched up 0.39% or 15.55 points to 4,020.67, as financials increased 0.35% or 8.18 points to 2,325.65. Holding firms registered a 0.07% uptick to 8,995.48, while services increased 0.04% to 1,619.58, respectively.

A total of 649 million issues switched hands, for a value turnover of P7.95 billion. Decliners trumped advancers, 103 to 96, while 48 issues remained unchanged.

Foreign investors turned buyers for a net foreign inflow of P141.94 million, reversing Thursday’s net selling record of P878.96 million.

Banking stocks were among the most active for the day, with Security Bank Corp. gaining 0.47% to P255.40 each, and BDO Unibank, Inc. losing 0.06% to P164.90 apiece. Ayala Land, Inc. on the other hand was flat at P44.35 each. — Arra B. Francia

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