PSEi drops on profit taking after market’s rally – BusinessWorld

PHILIPPINE shares declined on Thursday as the market corrected and as investors pocketed their profits following a two-day rally.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) went down by 26.83 points or 0.38% to close at 6,875.71 on Thursday, while the broader all shares index shed 5.85 points or 0.14% to finish at 4,154.36.

“Market went on profit taking today after it moved substantially up in the last two days of trading,” Diversified Securities, Inc. Equity Trader Aniceto K. Pangan said in a text message on Thursday. “This is considered a healthy correction.”

“The market was unable to sustain its position at the 6,900 level, showing this to be a strong resistance so far,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Senior Research Analyst Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message.

Meanwhile, AAA Southeast Equities, Inc. Research Head Christopher John Mangun said profit taking was expected as the week is about to end.

“The general sentiment continues to turn more optimistic as new COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) cases begin to decline again after we saw higher cases in the last two weeks,” Mr. Mangun said in an e-mail. “The continuous progress in the rollout of vaccines also added to the optimism.”

The Health department reported 7,485 new infections on Thursday, bringing the country’s case tally to 1,293,687. Active cases stand at 56,921.

The country on Thursday received one million doses of the CoronaVac vaccine, which was made by China-based Sinovac Biotech Ltd. It was also expecting around 2.2 million doses of the Pfizer, Inc. and BioNTech SA vaccine.

Majority of sectoral indices closed in the red except for services, which rose by 6.54 points or 0.42% to 1,540.17; and industrials, which gained 10.02 points or 0.1% to end at 9,251.30.

Meanwhile, mining and oil shaved off 82.62 points or 0.86% to end at 9,471.34; property lost 29.33 points or 0.85% to 3,418.77; financials went down by 9.56 points or 0.65% to close at 1,456.43; and holding firms declined by 27.05 points or 0.38% to 6,917.86.

Value turnover went down to P7.40 billion with 3.06 billion issues traded on Thursday, from the P7.58 billion with 2.02 billion shares that changed hands the previous day.

Decliners outnumbered advancers, 118 versus 97, while 47 names closed unchanged.

Foreigners turned sellers anew on Thursday, logging P2.67 million in net outflows versus the P1.09 billion in net purchases seen on Wednesday.

Diversified Securities’ Mr. Pangan said he expects profit taking to continue on Friday and placed the PSEi’s support at 6,840.

Meanwhile, AAA Southeast Equities’ Mr. Mangun said the 30-member index may still close the week with some gains.

“There is stronger conviction now that the economy is on a better path to recovery than six months ago as we are seeing gains in almost all industries,” he said. — K.C.G. Valmonte