Last-minute profit-taking caused the local bourse to end slightly lower on Wednesday after two consecutive sessions of marching toward the 7,000 milestone.
By the end of the session, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) shed 0.22 percent, or 15.40 points, to close at 6,958.01.
The market again failed to hold 7,000 after an intraday high of 7,016.04 early in the session.
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Meanwhile, the broader All Shares Index declined by 0.05 percent, or 1.73 points, to 3,759.55.
A total of 1.27 billion shares worth P5.34 billion changed hands as foreigners made net purchases worth 687.06 million, stock exchange data showed.
Mixed movements
Japhet Tantiangco, research manager at Philstocks Financial Inc., said some investors took advantage of the market’s gains at the last minute, resulting in a flat performance.
The sectors were mixed, with services-focused firms registering the steepest decline at 0.73 percent as index heavyweights PLDT Inc. and International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICTSI) went down.
Sy family-led BDO Unibank Inc. was the most actively traded stock as it climbed by 1.85 percent to P154 per share.
It was followed by DigiPlus Interactive Corp., up 1.69 percent to P24; Ayala Land Inc., up 1.49 percent to P34; SM Investments Corp., down 0.75 percent to P930; and Bank of the Philippine Islands, down 0.24 percent to P127.10.
Other actively traded stocks were ICTSI, down 0.78 percent to P405.20; Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., down 0.81 percent to P73.90; SM Prime Holdings Inc., down 2.26 percent to P30.30; Universal Robina Corp., up 2.45 percent to P96; and PLDT, down 3.14 percent to P1,511.
Gainers edged out losers, 99 to 90, while 54 companies closed unchanged.