Investors secure profits, ending PSEi’s new year rally

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) ended a three-day winning streak as investors pocketed profits ahead of the weekend.

By the closing bell, the PSEi sank 1.38 percent, or 93.36 points, to 6,667.97 while the broader All Shares index shed 1.05 percent, or 37.38 points, to 3,513.07.

Trading volume was lower from the previous session as 7.15 billion shares valued at P5.46 billion changed hands. Foreigners remained net buyers of an amount totaling P180.1 million.

“Philippine shares finally had the first profit taking session of the year on the back of strong US jobs data reported last night, fueling speculation of further rate hikes ahead,” Luis Gerardo Limlingan, head of sales at stock brokerage house Regina Capital Development, said in a note to investors on Friday.

Subsectors down

All PSE subsectors closed in the red, led by the industrial index’s 1.84-percent drop. It was followed by holding firms, down 1.38 percent; mining and oil, down 1.22 percent; services, down 1.2 percent; property, down 1.11 percent; and financials, down 0.63 percent.

SM Investments Corp., which slipped 1.64 percent to P900 per share, was the top traded company on Friday.

It was followed by BDO Unibank Inc., down 2.63 percent to P111; PLDT Inc., down 2.74 percent to P1,385; ACEN Corp., down 7.76 percent to P7.49; and Converge ICT Solutions Inc., down 0.57 percent to P17.50 per share.

Jollibee Foods Corp. was down 2.42 percent to P242; Apollo Global Capital Inc., up 15.15 percent to P0.038; Ayala Land Inc., down 3.2 percent to P30.25; Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., up 1.16 percent to P56.90; and Bloomberry Resorts Corp., up 0.45 percent to P8.90 per share.

Overall, there were 124 losers against 69 advancers while 41 companies closed unchanged, stock exchange data showed.