PSEi continues to weaken

The local stock barometer slipped for the third straight session Friday, the first trading day of the so-called “ghost month,” while investors priced in recent corporate earnings reports.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) lost 31.36 points or 0.42 percent to close at 7,408.44. The property index dragged the main index, declining by 1.74 percent. Value turnover for the day amounted to P7.17 billion. There were 62 advancers, which were edged out by 103 decliners, while 50 stocks were unchanged.

Bloomberry tumbled 7.27 percent on follow-through selling after the gaming firm’s announcement of a P1.3-billion net loss for the first semester. DMCI slid by 5.21 percent while SMPH fell by 4.63 percent.

Metrobank was down 2.3 percent while ALI fell by 1.32 percent. URC and GTCAP also declined.

On the other hand, SMIC and Megaworld firmed up by more than 1 percent while PLDT, AC and ICTSI also gained.

As the second-quarter corporate earnings reporting season drew to a close, the market also entered the “ghost month,” a period in the Lunar calendar when Chinese investors avoid making big-ticket investments or other big moves such as getting married or moving to a new house. This period also coincides with the season when many investors from the West take long summer breaks, thereby resulting in thinner trading volumes. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla