PSEi pulls back

Photo from pse.com.ph

MANILA, Philippines—The local stock index pulled back on Tuesday as investors pocketed gains ahead of a local holiday, tracking an overnight slump in US equities.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index slipped by 26.91 points or 0.41 percent to close at 6,587.49.

Local markets are closed on Wednesday due to the observance of “Araw ng Kagitingan” or Day of Valor.

The day’s decline was led by First Gen after the company confirmed damage to the internal components of the transformer of Unit 40, which has a 250-megawatt capacity or about a quarter of the capacity of the Sta. Rita power plant. First Gen said it was evaluating repair measures as well as a replacement option.

There was likewise profit-taking on ALI, GTCAP, LTG and AGI which all slumped by over 1 percent. Share prices of AC, AP, MBT, MEG and JFC also slipped.

Overnight, the Dow Jones Industrial Index slid by 166.84 points as Wall Street sold down technology stocks.

On the other hand, the day’s decline was curbed by the modest gains eked out by PLDT and DMCI.

Bucking the overall downturn, the euphoria on debutante DoubleDragon continued for the second straight day. The property firm, the most actively traded stock in the local market, gained 28.67 percent to close at P3.86 per share.

By counter, the day’s decline was led by the property sub-index while the industrial, holding firm and services counters likewise faltered. On the other hand, the financial and mining/oil counters eked out modest gains.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P7.57 billion. There were 81 advancers that beat 79 decliners while 53 stocks were unchanged.