Shares dip as 6-day rise prompts profit taking
PHILIPPINE shares dropped on Friday as investors booked their profits before the weekend, ending the market’s six-day rally.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) retreated 22.11 points or 0.30% to close at 7,289.61 while the broader all shares index fell 12.22 points or 0.27% to finish at 4,462.7.
Claire T. Alviar, senior research and engagement officer at Philstocks Financial, Inc., said in a mobile phone message that investors took recent gains after the market’s strong performance for six consecutive days.
“Investors took profits on the last trading day of the week to avoid uncertainties over the weekend, failing to break the resistance around the 7,300 levels,” Ms. Alviar said.
“Security Bank Corp. led the gainers, up by 2.87% to P122.00 while AC Energy Corp. was at the tail end, dropping 3.83% to P11.04. Sector performance was mixed with the banks advancing the most by 0.63% while industrials had the biggest loss of 1.16%,” she added.
Aniceto K. Pangan, equity trader at Diversified Securities, Inc., said in a mobile phone message that the market’s decline was a “healthy correction.”
“[The] market went on profit taking today after several days up and [is] considered as a healthy correction,” Mr. Pangan said.
Cristina S. Ulang, First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) head of research, said the net earnings of the Bank of the Philippines Islands (BPI) played a factor in the market’s performance on Friday.
“[The] earnings season with BPI showing year-on-year growth in the third quarter kept PSEi’s weekly gains intact,” Ms. Ulang said in a mobile phone message.
In a stock exchange disclosure on Thursday, BPI reported a 1.8% year-on-year increase in its net income to P17.5 billion for the nine months to September.
On Friday, majority of sectoral indices declined at the end of trading. The two gainers were financials, up 9.75 points or 0.63% to 1,552.25, and services, up 4.33 points or 0.23% to 1,874.62.
Industrials went down 125.57 points or 1.16% to 10,673.4; mining and oil decreased 100.53 points or 0.94% to 10,508.12; property shrank 14.31 points or 0.42% to 3,354.58; and holding firms dropped 29.35 points or 0.39% to 7,327.42.
Value turnover on Friday amounted to P5.32 billion with 785.36 million shares switching hands, lower than the P10.15 billion and 1.06 billion shares traded the prior day.
Net foreign selling reached P17.86 million, a reversal of the P304.53 million worth of net foreign buying logged on Thursday.
Decliners bested advancers, 105 versus 82, while 57 names ended unchanged on Friday. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave
