PSEi ends lower

The local stock barometer retreated from the year’s peak Friday as some investors were unnerved by an overnight bloodbath in Wall Street.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index slipped by 41.93 points or 0.63 percent to close at 6,596.96.

For the shortened trading week (Wednesday was a national holiday), the index was still ahead by 35.76 points or 0.5 percent from last week’s close due to the gains earlier in the week.

Overnight, a selldown in technology stocks dragged down the Dow Jones industrial index by 266.96 points. Regional markets tracked the overnight slump in US stocks, which was partly triggered by a selldown on technology firms.

The decline in the local market was led by the property counter, which slipped by 1.54 percent.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P8.3 billion. There were 75 advancers, which were outnumbered by 103 decliners, while 45 stocks were unchanged.

Domestic investors were mostly those who sold down shares yesterday. Foreign investors were net buyers for the day amounting to about P300 million.

Ayala Land, the day’s most actively traded stock, fell by 2.8 percent after Ayala Corp. raised $300 million from the sale of bonds that could be exchanged for ALI shares even as the parent firm explained that the transaction would not dilute stockholders. Doris C. Dumlao