PSEi slips on profit-taking

The local stock barometer slipped for the second session in a row Friday as the recent run-up to record highs tempted investors to lock up some gains from large-cap stocks.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) lost 33.82 points or 0.44 percent to close at 7,730.57. For the week, the index shed 94.82 points or about 1.2 percent.

The day’s decline was led by the financial and property counters, which both slipped more than 1 percent. The holding firm and services counters were also sluggish.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P7.57 billion. There were 74 advancers, which were overwhelmed by 92 decliners, while 53 stocks were unchanged.

The PSEi was weighed down most by BDO and ALI, which both slid by more than 2 percent while SM Prime, SMIC, Metrobank, Bloomberry and AC all fell more than 1 percent. On the other hand, Jollibee rebounded by 3.7 percent while MPIC gained by 2.88 percent. URC, Megaworld, EDC and DMCI also firmed up.

Local stockbrokerage DA Market Securities said that despite posting record highs 17 times this year, the PSEi’s upward momentum had notably slowed down since mid-February. The brokerage said investors were rotating their money to other stocks in search for more attractive values.

DA Market said that with the index treading in uncharted territory, next major resistance would be at 8,000 and 8,500 while initial major support would be at 7,485. Doris C. Dumlao