Stock index weakens in slow trading
The local stock barometer slipped in thin trade on Wednesday, tracking regional markets that were mostly sluggish on jitters on the US treasury and Cabinet exodus as well as a partial shutdown of the US federal government.
The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 29.7 points, or 0.4 percent, to close at 7,450.01.
“It doesn’t look like we’ll be getting a late Christmas gift from the index, so much more with US markets being relentless with their declines,” local stockbrokerage Papa Securities said in a research note.
The Dow Jones industrial average has fallen by around 1,000 points, or 4.7 percent, in the last two trading sessions.
“More importantly for the PSEi, note how the 4.7-percent drop compares to the 1.8-percent distance from last Friday’s close to its initial support at 7,350. A safe bet should be that the index retests this level soon from the aforementioned negativity,” the brokerage said.
Papa Securities said the 7,350 level would hopefully hold over the near-term.
Trading volume was very light at P3.39 billion as many investors were on a holiday mode.
There were 115 decliners that outnumbered 70 advancers while 41 stocks were unchanged.
The PSEi was weighed down by the financial, industrial, holding firm and services. On the other hand, the mining/oil counter gained 2.93 percent while the property counter also firmed up.
The index was weighed down most by AGI, which fell by 4.55 percent, while Jollibee,
ICTSI and GT Capital all declined by more than 3 percent.
BDO, the day’s most actively traded stock, slipped by 1.55 percent.
Ayala Land, Ayala Corp., Metrobank, URC, Aboitiz Power, Meralco and Metro Pacific all slipped.
On the other hand, SM Prime and BPI both gained more than 1 percent. SM Investments and PLDT both firmed up.
Outside of the PSEi, one notable gainer was Berjaya, which rose by 10 percent.
