PSEi continues to slide

AFP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—The local stock barometer slipped on profit-taking for the second session in a row on Wednesday, returning to the 7,600 level.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) lost 36.71 points or 0.48 percent to close at 7,686.43. Across the region, trading sentiment was mixed amid jitters on the debt crisis in Greece.

It was the last trading day before the first monetary policy-setting of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for 2015, during which authorities are expected to keep key interest rates steady.

The main index was weighed down by the financial, industrial, holding firm and services counters. The mining/oil and property counters firmed up.

Dealers said investors were pocketing gains after the surge of the main index to record highs recently.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P9.55 billion. There were 88 advancers, which were edged out by 97 decliners, while 42 stocks were unchanged.

The PSEi was led lower by Petron, which slumped by 4 percent. URC, Metrobank and LTG also slipped more than 2 percent. SMIC, ICTSI, DMCI and FGEN lost 1 percent. PLDT, Bloomberry and AGI also contributed to the decline.

Outside of the PSEi, shares of Cebu Air also fell by 2.92 percent.

On the other hand, Metro Pacific Investments and JG Summit gained more than 1 percent. SM Prime, GT Capital, Ayala Land, EDC, BPI and Ayala Corp. also firmed up.

DA Market Securities said in a research note that the market was susceptible to profit-taking going deeper into the earnings season and nearer to the Chinese New Year celebrations in the region, which might trigger a period of low-volume trading due to extended holidays.

“We also note possible rotation of fund flows among stocks as investors seek more attractive values in the market,” it said. Doris C. Dumlao