Outflow of foreign funds drags PSE index back to 7,700 level

The local stock barometer pulled back to the 7,700 level in thin trade on Monday, weighed down by the outflow of foreign funds related to the MSCI rebalancing.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 52.97 points or 0.68 percent to close at 7,771.62.

“The narrative should remain for the PSEi heading into this week with the market waiting on how the MSCi rebalancing fares, also likely to continue to be hit by net foreign selling until then. US markets are seeing some respite, but technical signals continue to be bearish so that could be another cause of concern,” local stock brokerage Papa Securities said in a research note.

The major support area remains at the 7,500 mark, the recent low in October, Papa Securities said.

The PSEi was weighed down most by the industrial counter, which lost 1.65 percent.

The holding firm, services and property counters also slipped.

On the other hand, the mining/oil counter added 0.63 percent, the only counter that gained for the day.

Value turnover amounted to P4.68 billion.

There was P1.07 billion in net foreign selling for the day as two PSEi stocks—AGI and DMCI—will be stricken off the MSCI Philippines index.

The rebalancing of the MSCI, which is closely tracked by many global fund managers, will take effect at the end of trading on Nov. 26.

At the local market, there were 118 decliners that overwhelmed 68 advancers, while 46 stocks were unchanged.

Jollibee was among the day’s most battered companies, having declined by 4.51 percent. Meralco also lost 3 percent.

Ayala Land, BDO, URC, PLDT, Metro Pacific and Semirara all fell by over 1 percent.

Ayala Corp., SM Prime, AGI, BPI, Metrobank, ICTSI, SMC and JG Summit all dipped.

On the other hand, SM Investments gained 0.84 percent, while Puregold and Globe Telecom also firmed up.