Local market loses steam after 4-day climb, PSEi ends below 7,300 level

The country’s stock barometer slipped below the 7,300-mark on Friday as investors pocketed gains from a four-day run-up against a backdrop of sluggish regional markets.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 76.57 points or 1.04 percent to close at 7,258.99. Regional markets were weighed down by tumbling metal prices.

For the week, the index gained by a modest 14.2 points or 0.2 percent from last week’s finish of 7,244.79.

All counters at the local market ended lower on Friday, but the most battered was the mining/oil sector, which slid by 2.87 percent. The property counter slipped by
1 percent.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P6.4 billion. Foreign buying was modest at P54 million.

Market breadth was also negative. Advancers, numbering 71, were overshadowed by 113 decliners. Fifty-one stocks were unchanged.

In recent weeks, the stock market had seen profit-taking whenever the index breached the 7,300-level.

The stock market had been seen traversing a consolidation phase while digesting the recent stream of fourth quarter 2016 earnings.

Semirara tumbled by 5.37 percent even after 2016 results were slightly ahead of consensus estimates. Its net profit last year rose by 42 percent to P12.04 billion on record-high coal sales and contribution from its new power plant.

DMCI, Ayala Corp., PLDT, JG Summit, Metrobank, EDC and Security Bank all fell by over
1 percent.

Metrobank saw a 2.89-percent decline in net profit last year to P18.1 billion due to slower-than-expected growth in interest earnings, lower profit from sale of foreclosed assets and higher loan loss provisioning.

URC, BDO, GT Capital, Globe and ICTSI also contributed to the day’s decline.

BDO posted a record high net income of P26.1 billion in 2016, up by 4.4 percent and in line with its earnings goal for that year.

Outside of the PSEi, RRHI also took a hit, declining by  1.43 percent.

Both SM Prime and Metro Pacific slightly made gains.

Citigroup said in a research on Friday that emerging market fund flows had benefited from the recent market rally. This asset class attracted a total inflow of $8.5 million over the past seven weeks.

Technology and commodity stocks remained the most “underweighted” sectors or those where investors pare their positions relative to the benchmark index.