Shares inch lower as market waits for fresh leads

STOCKS ended lower on Monday as investors stayed on the sidelines while waiting for fresh catalysts such as firms’ third quarter results.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) inched down by 0.12% or 9.10 points to end at 7,406.63 on Monday, while the broader all shares index dropped by 0.03% or 1.23 points to close at 4,080.29.

The PSEi traded mostly sideways during the session, opening at 7,416.81, just slightly above Friday’s close of 7,415.73. It reached an intraday high of 7,428.02 and a low of 7,386.85.

“The local market closed lower this Monday. Investors took a cautious stance while waiting for new positive catalysts, primarily the corporate sector’s third quarter corporate results. Trading was anemic…,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Senior Research Analyst Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message.

“Philippine shares had a tepid start as equities begin a new trading week, with more earnings scheduled for release in the coming days,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan likewise said in a Viber message.

Value turnover went down to P3.3 billion on Monday with 638.33 million shares changing hands from the P6.36 billion with 1.44 billion issues traded on Friday.

Last week marked the start of the third-quarter corporate results season, with Bank of the Philippine Islands and Asia United Bank Corp. both reporting record profits in the period.

Meanwhile, Asia shares dipped in and out of positive territory on Monday, under pressure from weakness in Hong Kong stocks, Reuters reported.

China’s blue-chip index swung between losses and gains in early trade, before turning decisively higher by the Asian afternoon, helped by a rise in technology companies. The benchmark was 0.4% higher, while the Shanghai Composite index gained 0.31%.

That failed to excite Hong Kong markets, however, where stocks fell more than 1%, pushing MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan down 0.26%, a step back in sentiment after US stocks posted a sixth straight week of gains on Friday.

Back home, the sectoral indices were mixed. Property dropped by 0.23% or 6.94 points to 2,940.14; services declined by 0.16% or 3.74 points to 2,254.28; and holding firms inched down by 0.07% or 4.76 points to 6,204.23.

Meanwhile, mining and oil went up by 0.45% or 39.32 points to 8,682.55; financials climbed by 0.07% or 1.77 points to 2,423.37; and industrials rose by 0.03% or 3.14 points to 10,032.13.

“Century Pacific Food, Inc. was the top index gainer, climbing 1.57% to P42. Converge ICT Solutions, Inc. was the main index loser, dropping 1.99% to P16.74,” Mr. Tantiangco said.

Decliners outnumbered advancers, 113 versus 104, while 53 names were unchanged.

Net foreign buying went down to P161.44 million on Monday from P173.77 million on Friday. — R.M.D. Ochave with Reuters