PSEi ends four-day climb, slips by 0.87%

The local stock barometer slipped on Thursday and traded in very thin volume as investors prepared for a large real estate investment trust (REIT) initial public offering to be launched by DDMP REIT Inc.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) declined by 60.27 points, or 0.87 percent, to close at 6,882.49 as foreign selling persisted.

“The PSEi declined, ending its four-day gain streak as selling pressure picked up and trading volumes decreased. The rally that we have been seeing in the last few days is confirmed to be more of a correction after several weeks of decline instead of higher valuations due to the rollout of vaccines or easing of restrictions,” said Christopher Mangun, head of research at AAA Equities.

“The market’s general trend is still sideways as the sentiment remains cautious due to the uncertainty of the economy’s recovery. This sideways trend will continue until investors are convinced that higher valuations are justified,” he said.

The market was weighed down most by the holding firm, mining/oil and property counters, which all fell by over 1 percent.

The financial and services counters both slipped by less than 1 percent.

On the other hand, the industrial counter added 0.19 percent.

Value turnover was thin at P4.88 billion while net foreign selling amounted to P627.63 million.

Joseph Roxas, president of Eagle Equities, said the large upcoming IPO of DDMP REIT might have siphoned off liquidity, as what was typically seen in the past whenever a large IPO was coming.

The PSE last week cleared the P14.7- billion IPO of DDMP REIT, which will also mark the second REIT listing in the country after Ayala Land-sponsored AREIT Inc.

The IPO will run on March 10 to March 16 after the final pricing on March 5. DDMP REIT is tentatively scheduled to be listed on the main board of the PSE on March 23.

There were 119 decliners that outnumbered 110 advancers, while 40 stocks were unchanged.

The PSEi was dragged down by Ayala Land, which lost 2.76 percent, while SM Investments declined by 1.42 percent.

URC, BPI and SM Prime all slipped by less than 1 percent.

Notable decliners outside the PSEi included Greenergy and Nickel Asia, which fell by 8.91 percent and 5.79 percent, respectively.

Apollo Global lost 3.77 percent, while Converge fell by 2.32 percent.

Dito, PHA and Basic Energy all declined by over 1 percent.

Jollibee bucked the day’s downturn with its 1.99 percent gain.

BDO, Metrobank and PLDT all rose by less than 1 percent.

One notable gainer was Now, which surged by 17.31 percent.

NOW disclosed that its telecom affiliate, NOW Telecom, received a favorable decision from the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA), which recognized its submission of all the required documents for its application and compliance with the requisite process as prescribed by the National Telecommunications Commission. Accordingly, an order of automatic approval of 220Mhz frequencies, including 5G, was awarded.

—DORIS DUMLAO-ABADILLA