LOCAL SHARES ended the trading week with gains as some blue chips lifted the main index following profit taking earlier in the day.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) was up 36.87 points or 0.57% to close at 6,476.24 on Thursday. The broader all shares index was higher by 13.06 points or 0.34% to 3,799.16.

The market is closed for trading on Friday in observance of Independence Day.

“Philippine shares were bought up towards closing with continued strength on key index names, while some investors took some profit on other stocks,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile message.

The PSEi spent earlier parts of Thursday’s trading in red territory, sinking as deep as 6,263.2 before it closed at its high for the day.

Select companies and index heavyweights were the main driver of the rebound. Top gainers for the day were Petroenergy Resources Corp. (+13.33%), DoubleDragon Properties Corp. (+11.11%) and Vivant Corp. (+9.84%). Blue chip companies that lifted the PSEi were Megaworld Corp. (+4.95%), Ayala Land, Inc. (+2.75%) and Globe Telecom, Inc. (+2.69%).

On the side of the losers, Bank of the Philippine Islands (-2.91%), GT Capital Holdings, Inc. (-2.58%), Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (-2.44%) and Robinsons Land Corp. (-2.10%) were some of the index members that tempered the PSEi.

Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Associate Piper Chaucer E. Tan said while there has been profit taking at the beginning of trading, investors still respected the 6,000 psychological level on sustained optimism on the reopening of the economy.

He noted, however, that participation dropped on Thursday to a value turnover of P7.04 billion from P8.96 billion the previous day. Some 1.87 billion issues switched hands.

Sectoral indices had a mixed ending at the close of the market. Property climbed 51.70 points or 1.60% to 3,280.98, holding firms gained 60.69 points or 0.92% to 6,611.86; services added 5.45 points or 0.37% to 1,443.00; and industrials inched up 1.62 point or 0.02% to 8,129.56.

On the other hand, financials shed 17.84 points or 1.36% to 1,291.29 and mining and oil gave up 48.37 points or 0.91% to 5,212.53.

Decliners bested advancers, 117 against 72, while 51 names ended unchanged.

Foreign investors returned to selling. The market recorded net foreign outflows of P63.15 million from net foreign inflows of P318.79 million a day ago.

Meanwhile, the Dow and S&P 500 ended a choppy session lower on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve reassured investors of its support for the economy but projected a 6.5% decline in gross domestic product this year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 282.31 points or 1.04% to 26,989.99; the S&P 500 lost 17.04 points or 0.53% to 3,190.14; and the Nasdaq Composite added 66.59 points or 0.67% to 10,020.35.— Denise A. Valdez

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR