PSE index falls below 6,000 as investors pocket gains

Philippine stocks slid for a second day on profit-taking, pulling the benchmark measure below 6,000 on Friday.

By the closing bell, the Philippine Stock Exchange Index shed 1.2 percent, or 72.43 points, to 5,983.56, while the broader All Shares index shed 0.89 percent, or 28.57 points, to 3,195.04.

Volume fell from the pervious session, with 429.16 million shares valued at P4.5 billion changing hands while foreigners were net sellers to the tune of P402.5 million.

“Philippine shares logged their second straight day of bathing in the red as investors came out of a tumultuous day with bond yields rising and wide-ranging corporate earnings,” Luis Gerardo Limlingan, head of sales at stock brokerage house Regina Capital Development, said in a note to investors on Friday.

“Oil concluded Thursday’s bumpy trading near flat as worries about inflation dampening oil demand contended with news that China is considering easing COVID-19 quarantine measures for visitors,” he added.

Philippine stock exchange subsectors closed mixed as property, services, financials and holding firms sank while industrial and mining and oil rose. SM Investments Corp. was the top traded stock on Friday as it slipped 0.9 percent to P770 per share.

It was followed by Ayala Land Inc., up 0.97 percent to P25.95; SM Prime Holdings Inc., down 5.04 percent to P32; Globe Telecom, down 5.97 percent to P2,330; and BDO Unibank Inc., down 3.18 percent to P118.60 per share.

Ayala Corp. rose 1.46 percent to P659, while Bank of the Philippine Islands was down by 2.57 percent to P91; Jollibee Foods Corp., down 2.17 percent to P225.40.