Philippine stocks slip as investors avoid high prices

https://www2.pse.com.ph/ photo

MANILA, Philippines—Local stocks slipped on Wednesday as lofty prices dissuaded many investors to load up on equities while the rest of the region turned cautious on the eurozone.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index shed 27.27 points, or 0.52 percent, to 5,214.79 as fears over the break-up in the eurozone added to profit-taking pressures.

Fund manager Gus Cosio, president of First Metro Asset Management Inc., said the day’s decline was merely a consolidation. “Some stocks have doubled in the last three months,” Cosio said, adding that most investors were still upbeat.

Joseph Roxas, president of Eagle Equities, said the view from some analysts that the Philippine stock market has become quite expensive relative to the rest of the region also weighed down the market.

All counters fell during the day but the property (-1.25 percent) and mining/oil counters (-2 percent) suffered the biggest decline.

Value turnover amounted to P6.6 billion. There were only 48 advancers, which were overshadowed by 123 decliners, while 38 stocks were unchanged.

The index was led lower by PLDT, BDO, Metrobank, AC, ICTSI, ALI, MPI, DMCI and EDC.

Three companies that recently offered shares to the public—Bloomberry, Eastwest and GT Capital—also succumbed to profit-taking.

On the other hand, taipan Andrew Tan-led Megaworld and AGI bucked the day’s downturn, respectively gaining by 2.73 percent and 4.58 percent. URC, SM Prime, SMC and RCBC also gained.