By Denise A. Valdez, Senior Reporter

PHILIPPINE SHARES closed lower on Tuesday as more investors secured profits following the double-digit rally of the market since last week.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dropped 76.11 points or 1.17% to end at 6,415.08, while the broader all shares index declined 41.25 points or 1.06% to close at 3,818.11.

The PSEi opened at 6,467.45, which was also its highest level for the day, and continued to slide lower to hit a bottom of 6,381.19 before moving higher in the second half of the session.

“The local bourse dropped 1.17% due to profit-taking after six consecutive days of the rally as it is near the resistance level of 6,570.00,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Associate Claire T. Alviar said in a text message.

Local shares were climbing since the beginning of last week, initially on the back of onshore investors but eventually with support from foreign money.

The PSEi gained 592.72 points or 10.05% from Oct. 16 to Oct. 26, when it closed at 5,898.47 and 6,491.19, respectively.

Foreign investors have been net buyers since Oct. 21 as well, posting net inflows of P103.54 million on Tuesday, lower than the previous session’s P4.44 billion.

“The US market’s sell-off overnight has spilled over in the bourse amid the negative sentiment from the recent surge of COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) cases in the US coupled with the uncertainties over the stimulus package,” Ms. Alviar added.

Wall Street closed lower on Monday with the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indices posting 2.29%, 1.86% and 1.64% declines, respectively.

“The market closed on red territory as investors chose to stay on the sidelines amid the release of third quarter corporate earnings results. Internationally, traders may be gauging the overall sentiment as we move closer to the US elections,” Timson Securities, Inc. Trader Darren T. Pangan said in a text message.

Meanwhile, the announcement on Tuesday morning of an extended Metro Manila lockdown until the end of November failed to give investors a cause for optimism, which dragged the market lower until the end of trading.

All sectoral indices recorded losses upon market close: holding firms by 93.99 points or 1.39% to 6,636.72; financials by 17.18 points or 1.35% to 1,252.35; property by 39.37 points or 1.25% to 3,103.69; industrials by 80.26 points or 0.93% to 8,529.77; mining and oil by 46.37 points or 0.60% to 7,646.90; and services by 1.16 points or 0.07% to 1,471.52.

Some 6.49 billion issues valued at P8.02 billion switched hands on Tuesday, climbing from the previous session’s 2.72 billion issues valued at P31.09 billion.

Decliners bested advancers, 117 against 79, while 64 names ended unchanged.

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