SHARES ended lower on Friday as investors became profit takers and responded to the Financial Times Stock Exchange (FTSE) rebalancing.

The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 33.38 points or 0.52% to close at 6,315.07. The broader all shares index also gave up 29.74 points or 0.80% to 3,684.55.

“The market performance is mainly brought by the FTSE rebalancing and profit taking for investors, most especially on the retail side,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Associate Piper Chaucer E. Tan said in a text message.

The changing of FTSE indices which took effect on Friday affected investor decisions around the world, and in the case of the Philippines, resulted in a decline in shares.

“Local shares closed slightly lower as investors aligned with portfolio with the latest FTSE rebalancing ahead of the weekend,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile message.

Aside from the FTSE rebalancing, Philstocks’ Mr. Tan also said investors are “cashing in positions and (on a) risk-off sentiment due to uncertainties that will happen over the weekend,” referring to the US market and other geopolitical tensions.

Mr. Limlingan said stocks struggled for direction as investors weighed the latest economic data and reports of new coronavirus cases across the world.

US markets were again mixed on Thursday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average index fell 0.15%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite indices increased 0.06% and 0.33%, respectively.

In Asia, most markets were trading in green territory on Friday at the time the local bourse closed.

Sectoral indices at home were mostly decliners at the end of trading. Services trimmed 22.41 points or 1.58% to 1,395.11; mining and oil lost 59.75 points or 1.18% to 4,983.16; industrials shaved off 75.36 points or 0.96% to 7,699.83; property dropped 29 points or 0.91% to 3,139.13; and financials slipped 8.11 points or 0.64% to 1,250.56.

The sole index that closed with gains was holding firms, which increased 8.73 points or 0.13% to 6,599.77.

Value turnover stood at P13.41 billion with 1.58 billion issues switching hands, rising from the previous day’s P10.44 billion with 2.77 billion issues.

Decliners beat advancers, 101 against 89. Some 54 names ended unchanged.

Offshore investors became net sellers on Friday with net outflows reaching P2.06 billion from the net buying of P544.06 million seen on Thursday. — Denise A. Valdez

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