PSEi slips by 1.4% on profit-taking

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) sank on Wednesday as cautious investors cashed in their gains ahead of the Christmas holidays.

By the closing bell, the PSEi had dropped 1.4 percent, or 101.01 points, to 7,102.66, also its low for the session. The broader all-shares index was also down 0.77 percent, or 32.9 points, to 4,253.13.

Chris Mangun, research head at AAA Equities, said it was the typical profit-taking that followed a period of gains.

He noted that while investors were “comfortable with current market conditions,” some were on a wait and see mode given higher prices of their favorite blue chip companies.

“Investors may want to see how well the economy performs this December before justifying a higher valuation,” he said.

Adding to risks is a possible uptick in COVID-19 cases after the holiday season.

“We may continue to see the main index move sideways between 6,700 and 7,200 in the coming weeks,” Mangun said.

Subsectors were mostly down save for mining and oil, up 3.81 percent, and industrial, up 0.74 percent. The property subindex was the biggest loser of the day after dropping 1.81 percent.

There were 132 gainers versus 117 decliners while 27 closed unchanged.

Metropolitan Bank & Trust was the most actively traded yesterday as it lost 1.45 percent to P51 per share.

It was followed by Dito CME Holdings, down 4.73 percent to P7.25; Ayala Land Inc., down 2.76 percent to P38.70, and BDO Unibank Inc., down 2.28 percent to P107. INQ