PSEi slips as foreign selling escalates

The local stock barometer ended flat on Thursday, shying away from the 6,000 barrier in line with sluggish regional markets.

Slipping for the second straight session, the main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 3.1 points or 0.05 percent to close at 5,943.52.

Net foreign selling escala­ted, reaching P1.17 billion for the day.

Local stock brokerage Papa Securities said the Financial Times Stock Exchange index rebalancing on Sept. 18 would be something to watch for as the index continued to consolidate.

“There still appears to be an overall lack of catalysts for the PSEi, and with US markets’ dull close as well after the Fed (US Federal Reserve) decision [on Wednesday night], it could continue to do so in the near-term,” the brokerage said.

In line with expectations, the Fed kept policy rates steady and committed to keep them near zero for a prolonged period.

“On the technical side however, we continue to flag that a major move might be coming soon especially with support and resistance trend lines already converging. Initial resistance is at the 6,167 area,” Papa Securities said.

The mining/oil counter was the most battered for the day, losing 1.32 percent. The industrial, holding and property counters all fell by less than 1 percent.

On the other hand, the financial and services counters both gained by less than 1 percent.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P6 billion.

There were 106 decliners that outnumbered 78 gai­ners, while 58 stocks were unchanged.

Among the most battered PSEi stocks was Metro Pacific, which fell by 3.41 percent.

Jollibee declined by 2.33 percent, while Security Bank, GT Capital and JG Summit all lost over 1 percent.

Ayala Land, PLDT, SM Investments and Metrobank all slipped by less than 1 percent.

On the other hand, Pure­gold gained 3 percent, while Ayala Corp. and BPI added over 2 percent.

ICTSI and Globe both rose by over 1 percent.

Outside the PSEi, notable gainers included third telco Dito, which racked up 2.22 percent.

Real estate investment trust first-mover AREIT, which is backed by Ayala Land, firmed up by 0.39 percent after announcing its acquisition of the Teleperformance Cebu property.