PSEi declines by 0.5%

The local stock barometer slipped for the third session in a row on Tuesday, defying the upswing seen across most regional markets, as initial public offerings sapped out liquidity from the local market.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell by 39.21 points or 0.5 percent to close at 7,739.86.

“Momentum indicators continue to turn sour with the RSI (relative strength index) continuing with its breakdown and the MACD (moving average convergence-divergence) turning increasingly more bearish,” local stock brokerage Papa Securities said in a research note.

“We maintain our stance that our buying area would be around 7,620—and that this level should hold as a strong support area,” it added.

The mining/oil sub-index was the most battered for the day, declining by 3.17 percent.

The industrial and property counters both fell by more than 1 percent.

The financial and services counters also slipped.

On the other hand, the holding firm counter ended slightly higher.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P5.44 billion. There was P592.65 million in net foreign selling for the day.

There were 135 decliners that overwhelmed 52 advancers, while 50 stocks were unchanged.

URC fell by nearly 4 percent while Security Bank slipped by 3.55 percent.

Ayala Land and Puregold both lost more than 2 percent.

Ayala Corp., SM Prime, BPI, Metrobank, ICTSI, DMCI, JG Summit, Jollibee, AGI, PLDT and Meralco all declined by less than 1 percent.

SM Investments gained 1.65 percent and was the most actively traded company for the day.

Megaworld added 0.69 percent as a big online gaming tenant in Eastwood resumed operations after settling tax deficiency.

BDO ended slightly higher.