PSEi stays above 7,200

The local stock barometer slipped but stayed above the 7,200 mark yesterday, bucking the upswing in regional markets.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) lost 9.71 points or 0.14 percent to close at 7,201.02 as investors navigated the third-quarter local corporate earnings reporting season with mixed sentiment.

Joseph Roxas, president of Eagle Equities Inc., said the decline was due to a technical correction as local markets had risen ahead of regional peers recently.

On the ongoing local initial public offerings (IPOs), he said these were too small to siphon off liquidity from the local market these days.

The index was weighed down most by services, which slumped by 2.25 percent, while the financial, industrial and mining/oil counters dipped. On the other hand, the holding firm and property counters firmed up.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P5.42 billion. There were 79 advancers, which were edged out by 99 decliners, while 34 stocks were unchanged.

The PSEi was led lower by ICTSI and Globe Telecom, which both slumped by more than 3.8 percent. PLDT likewise fell by 2.42 percent. Outside of PSEi stocks, FNI tumbled by 6.52 percent.

On the other hand, SMPH rose by 2.75 percent while Ayala Corp. and Megaworld both advanced by more than 1 percent. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla