PSEi falls below 6,200 in another depressed trading

The local stock barometer slipped below the 6,200 mark on Friday as foreign investors continued to pare their local equities portfolio.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 1.61 points or 0.03 percent to close at 6,199.25.

For the week, the PSEi lost a total of 70.11 points or 1.11 percent.

The persistent foreign selling was “brought on by the major overhang that MSCI’s expected outflow poses next week,” local stock brokerage Papa Securities said.

“It’s likely that the depressed trading would continue on to the rebalancing date, with any major bounce to come next month [and] the narrative then shifting to second half 2021 economic recovery and vaccine rollout,” the brokerage said.

Papa Securities sees support level for the PSEi at the 6,000 to 6,170 area.

Modest gains eked out by the industrial, holding firm, mining/oil and property counters supported the market, while the financial and services counters were in the doldrums.

Value turnover was thin at P5 billion as the ongoing massive P55.89-billion initial public offering of Monde Nissin Corp. further sucked market liquidity.

Net foreign outflows amounting to P512.74 million also weighed down the market. —Doris Dumlao-Abadilla