Stocks continue to weaken

Local stocks slumped for a third session Thursday, reversing slight gains in early trade, as investors anticipated further monetary tightening by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 10.72 points or 0.15 percent to close at 7,202.06 in mixed trade ahead of the BSP’s monetary setting.

The decline was led by the financial, holding firm and service counters. The mining/oil counter bucked the sluggish trade, rising by 1.14 percent.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P6.83 billion. Despite the PSEi’s decline, market breadth was positive, as there were 99 advancers that outnumbered 68 decliners while 50 stocks were unchanged. Analysts said some investors shifted money away from pricey large-cap stocks and looked for bargains outside of the PSEi roster.

Jose Vistan, head of research at AB Capital Securities, said it might be difficult for the market to see a large correction even as valuations have reached high levels due to the influx of foreign funds since the latest MSCI rebalancing and the surprise monetary stimulus from the European Central Bank.

The PSEi was led lower by PLDT and Bloomberry, which both fell by more than 1 percent. Ayala Corp., DMCI, Ayala Land Inc., BPI and Alliance Global Group Inc. also weighed down the PSEi.

On the other hand, Semirara (+2.08 percent) and URC (+1.16 percent) curbed the day’s decline while BDO, SM Investments Corp., SM Prime, Energy Development Corp., Megaworld and ICTSI also firmed up.

Outside of PSEi stocks, Puregold (+2.8 percent) rose alongside Melco and Cebu Pacific. Doris C. Dumlao