PHL stocks decline anew as profit taking prevails
THE bellwether index rallied above the 8,000 mark yesterday before pulling back at the closing bell on profit taking and as investors digested more second-quarter corporate earnings.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index ended a three-day climb as it dropped 0.07% or 5.76 points on Tuesday to end at 7,986.51. The broader all-shares index also fell 0.39% or 18.72 points to close at 4,734.64.
“The PSEi traded in the green for most of the session but last minute selling dragged the market down,” RCBC Securities, Inc. analyst Jeffrey Lucero said in a text message.
The main index opened the session at 8,030.07 and reached an intraday high of 8,039.05 before dropping back below the 8,000 level.
“[First-half] earnings results are still driving the market. Universal Robina [Corp.] (URC), in particular, which reported disappointing results, has been sold down and accounted for an integral part of the PSEi’s losses,” Mr. Lucero said.
Shares in the URC dropped 3.10% or P4.70 to P146.80 each yesterday as it reported a 23% decline in attributable net income to P2.88 billion for the April to June period. The company cited continued challenges in its Philippine and Vietnamese operations for dragging its earnings.
“Meanwhile, Ayala Land, [Inc.] (ALI) which met earnings expectations is increasing,” Mr. Lucero said. ALI shares surged 2.75% or P1.15 to P43 apiece on Tuesday.
“As many corporate earnings were released, Philippine markets attempted to crack past the 8,000 mark once more but failed in the process due to profit taking,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan said in a text message.
Sectoral counters were split. The industrials subindex posted the biggest loss at 1.49% or 167.13 points, ending at 11,012.47. Mining and oil followed, with a 0.78% or 101.18-point decline to 12,777.26, while holding firms dipped 0.67% or 53.74 points to 7,907.77.
The other three sectors were in positive territory, led by financials which added 12.9 points or 0.65% to 1,996.73. Property followed with a gain of 0.53% or 20.15 points to 3,777.98, and services climbed 0.45% or 7.51 points to 1,676.34.
Value turnover stood at P8.57 billion on Tuesday as the market saw a total of 1.11 billion issues change hands, up from the previous session’s P4.88 billion.
Decliners outnumbered advancers, 138 to 60, while 51 issues were unchanged.
Foreigners were net buyers at P459.16 million, a reversal from Monday’s net outflow of P40.82 million.
Southeast Asian stock markets, except Singapore, nudged higher on Tuesday as optimism over the prospects of better global economic growth outweighed weaker-than-expected Chinese trade data.
Ratings agency Fitch raised its 2017 world gross domestic product growth forecast to 3% from its estimate of 2.9% in June, with the revisions led by emerging markets and China in particular. — Arra B. Francia with Reuters
