Stocks end lower in thin trade

The local stock barometer slipped in thin trade on Monday as most investors lacked incentive to make big moves.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 29.73 points or 0.38 percent to close at 7,870.25.

Local stockbrokerage Papa Securities said the market’s weakness could be a buying opportunity. The momentum has strengthened from the oversold level seen a couple of days ago, the brokerage said.

The day’s decline was led by the services counter, which fell by 1.09 percent.

The financial, industrial, holding firm and mining/oil counters also slipped.

The property counter was modestly higher.

Value turnover for the day was relatively thin at P4.77 billion. There was a modest net foreign buying of P139.71 million for the day.

There were 130 decliners that edged out 68 advancers while 49 stocks were unchanged.

The PSEi was weighed down most by Metro Pacific, which tumbled by 4.06 percent. This was after breaking the strong psychological support of P5 a share, Papa Securities said.

Ayala Corp., URC and Puregold also slipped.

BDO Unibank, SM Investments, Jollibee and Aboitiz Power likewise ended lower.

Outside of PSEi stocks, there was profit-taking on Vitarich, which lost 3.28 percent and was the day’s most actively traded company. Wilcon Depot also fell by 3.2 percent.

On the other hand, JG Summit gained 1.11 percent while property stocks Ayala Land, RLC and SMPrime all firmed up.

Notable gainers outside the PSEi were Apex Mining and Megawide, which surged by 5.41 percent and 4.19 percent, respectively.