PSEi slips on valuation jitters

A trader looks at the electronic board showing the downward graph of the stocks price index at the Philippine stock exchange. AFP

MANILA, Philippines — The local stock index dipped after a long weekend break on Tuesday as investors reevaluated recent gains.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index shed 7.65 points or 0.11 percent to close at 7,239.38.

The decline was led by the interest-rate sensitive property counter (1.02 percent) ahead of the release of the September inflation report. The financial and holding firm counters were likewise down while the industrial, services and mining/oil counters also slipped.

Joseph Roxas, president of local stock brokerage Eagle Equities Inc., said trading was “listless” as the market was “looking for reasons to justify higher prices.”

Turnover amounted to P12.68 billion.

Despite the PSEi’s decline, the broader market was positive as there were 98 advancers against 70 decliners while 52 stocks were unchanged.

The property counter was led by the sell-down on Megaworld (-2.04 percent), ALI (-1.33 percent) and SM Prime (-0.45 percent).

Conglomerates AC and SM were likewise both down by over 1 percent. Globe Telecom was down by 1.5 percent. BDO (-0.86 percent) led the financial counter lower.

On the other hand, ICTSI and GTCAP bucked the day’s decline. ICTSI announced an expansion plan for its Manila port. URC, EDC and AP also gained.

Outside of the main index, one notable gainer was Nickel Asia which rebounded by 3.04 percent.

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