Stocks slightly dip

‎The local stock market slightly dipped Thursday after posting gains for the past three days as investors reassessed their portfolios after some large-cap stocks reportedly hit overbought levels.

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 across the region.

The trend was said to be triggered by a policy meeting of the European central bank, and the release of the Philippine inflation report for August.

The market was weighed down most by the property (-0.71 percent) counter due to the profit-taking of ALI stocks (-1.63 percent).

The holding firm counter also ended lower.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P11.78 billion.

There were 76 advancers against 99 decliners, while 52 stocks were unchanged.

DA Market Securities said the index’s climb toward the 7,200 mark had once again indicated an overbought market, which could further slow down the market.

“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 at the 7,000 level.

It sees immediate term support at 7,100 and a stronger support band of 7,000-6,950.

Other stocks that weighed down the Philippine Stock Exchange index yesterday were Metrobank, ICTSI, Jollibee, SMIC and Megaworld.

Outside of the PSEi stocks, Puregold fell by 2.93 percent.

On the other hand, the gains posted by EDC and Globe—which both advanced by over 1 percent—helped in tempering the index’s decline.

PLDT, AGI, URC and JG Summit also registered gains.

Based on the list of actively traded stocks, some money had rotated 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). Also, RRHI and D&L both gained over 2 percent. RFM and Security Bank both rose by over 1 percent.   Doris C. Dumlao