PSEi slips 0.35% mainly on foreign selling

The local stock barometer slipped for the second straight session on Friday as foreign selling intensified amid sluggish regional markets.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 25.22 points or 0.35 percent to close at 7,272.80. For the week, the PSEi added 26.64 points or 0.04 percent.

On Friday, there was P1.1 billion worth of net foreign selling as investors reassessed recent gains. PSEi is now trading at levels seen prior to the imposition of lockdown measures to curb the coronavirus pandemic in mid-March.

With the coming holidays and the lack of catalysts, a quiet close had been expec­ted, stock brokerage Papa Securities said.

“The BSP (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) chose to stay put in [Thursday’s] meeting according to expectations and kept interest rates steady. On the external side, US indices managed to make new highs (albeit by a small amount) on vaccine optimism,” it said.

In the near term, Papa Securities expects the PSEi to be capped at the 7,500 area, noting that the main index neared “overbought” levels.

The market was weighed down most by the financial counter, which fell by 1.16 percent, while the holding firm and property counters both declined by less than 1 percent.

The industrial, services and mining/oil counters all rose by less than 1 percent.

Value turnover stood at P11.87 billion.

Market breadth was neutral as there were just as many advancers as decliners during the day.

Investors pared down their holdings in SM Investments and lender BDO, which tumbled by 2.65 percent and 2.52 percent, respectively.

Ayala Corp. and Puregold both declined by over 1 percent, while Ayala Land, Metrobank, BPI and Meralco all slipped by less than 1 percent.

Notable decliners outside the PSEi were Premiere Horizon and Vista Land, down by 6.48 percent and 3.59 percent, respectively.

The PSEi’s decline was tempered by the gains posted by JG Summit, which rose by 3.45 percent, and telecom stocks PLDT and Globe Telecom, which added 2.31 percent and 2.94 percent, respectively.

SM Prime, the day’s most actively traded company, added 0.13 percent, while ICTSI firmed up by 0.24 percent. —DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA