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MANILA, Philippines — Local stocks pulled back for a second session on Tuesday, albeit on thin volume, as rich valuations spurred profit-taking.
The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange lost 24.53 points or 0.34 percent to close at 7,146.12, led by the property counter (-1.05 percent).
It was earlier reported that the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas was considering more property lending curbs to ensure that the asset markets would not form a bubble.
Value turnover was thin at P6.7 billion. There were 67 advancers, which were overwhelmed by 35 decliners while 35 stocks were unchanged.
The index laggers were DMCI (-2.93 percent), JG Summit (-2.45 percent) and FGEN (-2.4 percent). Metrobank, SM Prime, AP, Belle, MPI, Philex, URC and SMIC also tumbled by over 1 percent.
The index gainers were ICTSI, Jollibee and SMC, which all rose by over 2 percent while MWC, Petron, Meralco, AEV, Bloomberry, AGI and AC also closed higher.
Outside of the PSEi, APM (soon to change to COSCO) gained 2.5 percent as Lucio Co’s holding firm was reported to be working on a $500-million equity deal.
BHI (+6.38 percent) likewise surged in heavy volume as more details on a prospective deal with Ayala Land on resort-oriented landbank were disclosed.