PH shares down, fail to close above 8,000 barrier

The local stock barometer attempted but failed anew to stay above the 8,000 mark on Tuesday due to profit-taking pressures as the index neared recent highs.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index ended 5.76 points or 0.07 percent lower to close at 7,986.51 as investors took their cue from the latest stream of second quarter corporate earnings results.

The local index hit a high of 8,039.05 in intra-day trade but closed at the day’s low.

The index was weighed down most by the industrial counter, which fell by 1.5 percent.

The holding firm and mining/oil counters also slipped.

On the other hand, the financial, services and property counters firmed up.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P8.57 billion.

As the market declined, foreign investors were net buyers amounting to P459.16 million for the day.

Market breadth was negative, as there were 138 decliners that overwhelmed 60 advancers while 51 stocks were unchanged.

URC fell by 3.1 percent after announcing a 14.2-percent drop in first semester net profit due to lower operating income and foreign exchange gains alongside higher finance cost and tax provisions.

Meralco and AGI both fell by over 1 percent while SM Prime, Metrobank and BPI also slipped.

Outside the PSEi, one notable decliner was D&L, which fell by 4.26 percent.

D&L tempered profit guidance for this year, citing infrastructure constraints which may curb sales volume.

The day’s most actively traded stock was Chelsea Logistics, which fell by 1.12 percent as retail investors pocketed gains on listing day.

On the other hand, Security Bank surged by 3.58 percent while ALI gained 2.75 percent. BDO and PLDT both rose by over 1 percent.

Ayala Corp., SM Investments, Megaworld, ICTSI and DMCI all firmed up.