Stocks end lower

Local stocks ended lower Monday, defying the regional upswing brought by better factory output data from China.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index gave up 13.37 points or 0.22 percent to close at 6,061.80 in mixed trade.

A big fund manager said that after some month-end window-dressing last week, there would naturally be some profit-taking.

There were 66 advancers against 77 decliners while 44 stocks were unchanged. Value turnover amounted to P6.3 billion.

The day’s biggest index laggers were ICTSI (-5.26 percent) and RLC (-3.85 percent) while ALI, AEV, MPI and Ayala all shed more than 2 percent. Belle, BDO and Bloomberry also declined more than 1 percent.

The day’s decline was tempered by the increase in SMIC (+5.22 percent), which has been battered in the past few weeks due to the reduction in its weight in the MSCI index. Meralco was also up 3.46 percent despite its upcoming exclusion from the PSEi.

AGI and SMC gained more than 2 percent while First Gen, Aboitiz Power and JG Summit were up more than 1 percent. Jollibee and SM Prime likewise edged higher. Doris C. Dumlao