PSEi stays above 7,800

Local stocks slipped Tuesday but stayed afloat the 7,800-mark as the recent “Brexit” rally waned across regional markets.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) lost 38.41 points or 0.49 percent to close at 7,808.13, tracking mostly sluggish regional markets as caution returned in the aftermath of Britain’s decision to exit the European Union and ahead of crucial jobs data coming out of the US later in the week.

The local stock market will be closed Wednesday in observation of a national holiday, Eid’l Fitr (Feast of Ramadhan).

Yesterday, all counters ended in the red. Total value turnover for the day amounted to P8.16 billion. There were 85 advancers which were edged out by 102 decliners while 50 stocks were unchanged.

The decline was led by BDO, which lost 2.18 percent, while SM Prime, the most actively traded stock, slipped by 1.96 percent. A changing of the guard looms in SM Prime, with long-time president Hans Sy stopping down for “semi-retirement.” He will be succeeded by executive vice president and chief finance officer Jeffrey Lim. However, the decline was mostly attributed to profit-taking.

Universal Robina Corp., Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and Petron were likewise all down by more than 1 percent while PLDT, Metrobank, GT Capital and Meralco also dipped.

Outside of the PSEi, NOW, which is positioning itself for a broadband play, fell by 5.96 percent on profit-taking.

On the other hand, Megaworld and Ayala Corp. gained more than 1 percent while Ayala Land Inc., ICTSI and Jollibee all firmed up slightly.

One notable gainer outside the PSEi was Gaisano family-led MRSGI, which rose 3.37 percent as investors scouted for alternative consumer plays. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla