The Philippine Stock Exchange index shed 1.91 points or 0.03 percent to close at 7,204.11, tracking the profit-taking in most stock markets in the region ahead of a policy meeting by the European Central Bank and the release of the August Philippine inflation report.
The market was weighed down most by the property (-0.71 percent) in turn due to profit-taking on ALI (-1.63 percent). The holding firm counter also ended lower.
Value turnover for the day amounted to P11.78 billion. There were 76 advancers, which were outnumbered by 99 decliners while 52 stocks were unchanged.
DA Market Securities said the PSEi’s climb towards 7,200 had once again just registered an overbought market, which may slow down further ascent. “The volatility displayed in the past 17 trading days may soon induce a consolidation between 7,000-7,200 levels,” the brokerage said.
In the event of a correction, DA Market said the market would most likely seek to test the resilience of 7,000 levels. It sees immediate term support at 7,100 and a stronger support band of 7,000-6,950.
Other stocks that weighed down the PSEi on Thursday were Metrobank, ICTSI, Jollibee, SMIC and Megaworld. Outside of PSEi stocks, Puregold fell by 2.93 percent.
On the other hand, gains by EDC and Globe — which both advanced by over 1 percent – tempered the PSEi’s decline. PLDT, AGI, URC and JG Summit also gained.
Based on the list of actively traded stocks, some money was rotating to second-liner companies as some PSEi stocks hit overbought levels. Among the notable gainers outside the PSEi roster was Nickel Asia (+6.22 percent) alongside RRHI and D&L which both gained over 2 percent. RFM and Security Bank also both rose by over 1 percent.
Nickel Asia’s share price spiked as Sen. Bam Aquino filed a bill that seeks to ban the export of mineral ore, a policy similar to that adopted by Indonesia. This means that mining firms may have to invest in processing plants so that the country can unlock more values from its mineral resources.
News about this proposal benefited Nickel Asia, which already owns two nickel processing plants.
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