By Revin Mikhael D. Ochave, Reporter

SHARES ended in negative territory on Tuesday as investors booked their gains and as market sentiment was dampened by recent manufacturing data.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell 63.32 points or 0.88% to close at 7,134.18, while the broader all shares index declined 43.22 points or one percent to end at 4,273.94.

Philstocks Financial, Inc. Senior Research Analyst Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a mobile phone message that the market ended lower as investor sentiment was dampened by recent manufacturing data.

IHS Markit reported on Monday that the country’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) dropped to 49.2 in December, compared to 49.9 in the previous month.

The figure is now farther from the 50-neutral mark that differentiates expansion from contraction, and signified weaker factory activity.

For Timson Securities, Inc. Head of Online Trading Darren Blaine T. Pangan, the market declined as investors remained cautious and booked their profits instead.

“The market ended lower as investors chose to lock in on profits to stay cautious amid the ongoing surge in coronavirus cases across the globe, and after the UK went into new lockdown situations in hopes to curb the spread of the new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) strain,” Mr. Pangan said in a mobile phone message.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday placed England in a national lockdown as part of efforts to mitigate the spread of the new COVID-19 strain, despite the recent rollout of the vaccine created by Oxford University and AstraZeneca.

Meanwhile, the global tally of COVID-19 cases was at 85.68 million cases as of Jan. 5, according to data from the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 dashboard. The United States logged the highest case count at 20.82 million cases, followed by India at 10.36 million cases, and Brazil at 7.75 million cases.

Back home, most sectoral indices ended in red territory. Industrials was the sole gainer, rising 19.35 points or 0.2% to close at 9,485.59. Meanwhile, financials retreated by 27.14 points or 1.88% to 1,412.85; mining and oil dropped 128.42 points or 1.29% to 9,766.24; holding firms went down 72.78 points or 0.98% to 7,327.62; property declined 33.09 points or 0.88% to 3,705.28; and services shrank 10.74 points or by 0.7% to 1,523.55.

Decliners outnumbered advancers, 133 against 87, while 43 names ended unchanged.

Value turnover reached P11.34 billion with 30.76 billion issues switching hands, an improvement from the P10.03 billion with 21.55 billion issues in the previous trading session.

Net foreign selling reached P80.27 million, lower than P214.08 million logged on Monday.

“7,000 remains the nearest technical support area, while 7,300 may be considered the closest resistance level,” Mr. Pangan said.

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