Market seen to consolidate further, test support at 7,750

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) slipped lower on Monday, bucking slight gains across the region.

The PSEi shed 0.28 percent, or 21.92 points, to 7,779.80 while the broader all shares index lost 0.17 percent, or 8.08 points, to 4,367.88.Chris Mangun, research head at stock brokerage firm AAA Equities, said the PSEi could consolidate lower moving forward.

“We may see it test support at 7,750 before going higher,” he said in a research note on Monday.

“The sentiment right now is extremely gloomy, and nothing seems to give investors any reprieve,” he said. “The next two weeks are going to be crucial for global markets, what we are seeing may be the calm before the storm.”

Subsectors ended mixed on Monday while trading volume was relatively thin.There were 576.2 million shares valued at P5.5 billion that changed hands on Monday.

Decliners outnumbered gainers 105 to 81 while 48 companies closed unchanged.Property giant Ayala Land Inc. was the most actively traded on Monday as it lost 1.76 percent to P44.70 per share.

Other actively traded stocks were SM Investments Corp., down 1.67 percent to P1,060; BDO Unibank Inc., up 2.24 percent to P160; Universal Robina Corp., up 3.31 percent to P140.50, and SM Prime Holdings, up 0.49 percent to P41 per share. INQ