Stocks down on profit-taking

Philippine stocks slipped Tuesday as investors pocketed profits amid weak trading volume. Regional bourses, meanwhile, moved higher.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) declined 0.39 percent, or 28.31 points, to 7,215.09 while the broader All-shares index was down 0.02 percent to 4,271.42.

Subsectors were mixed Tuesday. Only mining/oil and services ended positive, with gains of 0.77 percent and 0.40 percent, respectively. Losers were led by property and holding companies, down 0.59 percent and 0.45 percent, respectively.

Data from the PSE showed that a total of 4.73 billion shares valued at P6.7 billion changed hands, which was below the bourse’s daily average. There were a total of 99 decliners against 86 gainers while 52 companies closed unchanged.

Ayala Land Inc. led the list of most actively traded stocks as it slid 1.43 percent to P34.45 a share.

This was followed by SM Prime Holdings Inc., unchanged at P22; Security Bank Corp., down 0.57 percent to P173; SM Investments Corp., down 0.05 percent to P959.50, and Global Ferronickel Holdings, up 20.69 percent to P1.05 a share. Miguel R. Camus