The local stock barometer ended a four-day run-up on Tuesday, defying the upswing seen across most regional markets.
The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell by 43.98 points or 0.56 percent to close at 7,840.31 in thin trade as investors digested a string of corporate deals.
“With the trade war narrative still dictating overall market movement, the next few days might come to a lull after cracks seemingly started to emerge with last Friday’s deal,” local stock brokerage Papa Securities said in a research note.
“China apparently wants more details before finalizing any deals. Moreover, Dec. 15 still remains to be an overhang since this is when a 15-percent tariff on $160-billion (worth) of Chinese goods is set to take effect unless a deal is already in place by then.”
In the near term, Papa Securities said the 7,900 to 8,000 range might be tough to beat.
The index was weighed down most by the property counter, which lost 1.05 percent.
The industrial, holding firm, services and mining/oil counters also slipped.
On the other hand, the financial counter ended slightly higher.
Value turnover was thin at P4.6 billion. Foreigners were net sellers, resulting in an outflow of P347.8 million.
There were 111 decliners that overwhelmed 65 advancers, while 63 stocks were unchanged.
Metro Pacific, the day’s most actively traded company, fell by 3.16 percent after announcing a deal to sell 42 percent of its hospital business to a consortium led by private equity firm KKR for P35.3 billion.
Property giant SM Prime also fell by 2.81 percent.
SM Investments and PLDT both lost over 1 percent, while Jollibee, BPI, Megaworld, Globe Telecom and Security Bank all slipped by less than 1 percent.
Outside of the PSEi, notable decliners included newly listed AllHome, which fell by 0.51 percent to close at P11.50 per share—back to its initial public offering price.
RCBC also declined by 0.77 percent.
On the other hand, AGI surged by 3.8 percent while Ayala Corp., Metrobank, BDO and RLC all slightly gained.
One notable gainer outside the PSEi was Phinma Energy, which rallied by 11.3 percent. This will be the vehicle of the Ayala group for the backdoor-listing of its energy assets.