Index holds on to 7,000 level amid profit taking

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) slipped on profit taking on Tuesday but still managed to hold the 7,000 level amid a strong wave of foreign purchases.

The PSEi shed 0.45 percent, or 31.44 points, to 7,014.04 while the broader All Shares index sank 0.47 percent, or 17.23 points, to 3,657.92.

A total of 1.25 billion shares valued at P10.14 billion changed hands while foreigners were net buyers to the tune of P1.75 billion, stock exchange data showed.

Luis Gerardo Limlingan, head of sales at stock brokerage house Regina Capital Development, said investors also pocketed gains amid the relatively buoyant stock market in the United States.

“Investors cashed in after the index touched the 7,000 level yesterday and ahead of the resumptions of trading in the US. All three of the major indexes are up coming off a positive first two weeks of trading in the new year,” he said in a note to investors on Tuesday.

PSE subsectors ended mixed with property and services moving higher while industrial, holding firms, financials and mining and oil retreated.

SM Investments Corp. was the top traded company as it dropped 1.48 percent to P933 per share.

It was followed by BDO Unibank Inc., down 0.8 percent to P124.50; SM Prime Holdings Inc., up 1.46 percent to P38.30; International Container Terminal Services Inc., up 0.57 percent to P211.20; and ACEN Corp., down 4.12 percent to P6.75 per share.

Ayala Land Inc. was up 1.11 percent to P31.95; Jollibee Foods Corp., up 1.61 percent to P252; PLDT Inc., up 0.56 percent to P1,440; Emperador Inc., flat at P20.35; and Bank of the Philippine Islands, down 1.87 percent to P110.30 per share.

Overall, there were 111 losers against 77 advancers while 38 companies closed unchanged, stock exchange data showed.