PSEi down by 0.28% to 7,672.28

The local stock barometer shied away from the 7,700 mark in thin trading yesterday as foreign investors continued to sell down local equities.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 21.84 points or 0.28 percent to close at 7,672.28.  Regional markets traded with mixed sentiment.

For the week, the main index lost a total of 79.83 points or 1 percent.

The PSEi was weighed down most by the holding firm and mining/oil counters, which both declined by over 1 percent, while the industrial counter also slipped.

The financial, services and property counters slightly gained.

Value turnover was thin at P4.22 billion. The market was battered by foreign selling which netted P715.35 million for the day.

MPIC fell by 3.92 percent, mostly attributed to delays in tariff adjustments for its utility businesses.

SM Investments and Megaworld both slipped by over 2 percent, while Ayala Corp. and URC both declined by over 1 percent. Metrobank also lost ground.

Outside the PSEi, notable decliners included Vitarich (-6.63 percent), MRC Allied (-4.17 percent) and Wilcon Depot (-3.84 percent).

On the other hand, GT Capital added 2.89 percent, while SM Prime—the day’s most actively traded firm—gained 1.5 percent.

SM Prime recently got an increase in weighting in the closely-tracked MSCI Indices, which will take effect at the close of trades on May 31.

Ayala land, BPI and BDO also firmed up.

Outside of PSEi stocks, one notable gainer was third telecom player aspirant Now Corp., which surged by 6.52 percent.