The local stocks index soared to a new intraday high Friday on monetary easing hopes but later succumbed to profit-taking.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index hit a new record high of 5,484.63 in intraday trade as a benign inflation rate for September prompted the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to signal openness to another interest rate cut. But as investors scrambled to lock up profits, the index closed 3.9 points or 0.07-percent lower at 5,439.84.
Trading was mixed across counters, with the financial, services and property counters dragging the index. On the other hand, modest gains by the industrial, holding firms and mining/oil counters tempered the index decline.
As investors locked up gains from blue chips, they scouted for opportunities in second and third-liner stocks. As such, there were 102 advancers that outnumbered 69 decliners even if the PSEi was slightly in the red.
The index stocks that were most battered by profit-taking
were Ayala land (-2.5 percent), AGI (-1.89 percent) and Meralco (-1.7 percent). BPI, SM Prime, PLDT, Metrobank, SMIC, EDC and BDO also ended lower.
On the other hand, the index stocks that outperformed for the day were URC (+4.41 percent), Megaworld (+3.06 percent), JGS (+2.67 percent), MWC (+2.13 percent), Petron (+2.04 percent) and Ayala (+1.09 percent).
Among non-index stocks, investors bought up Alcorn (+48.39 percent), FLI (+2.96 percent) and Bloomberry (+2.78 percent).
Alcorn sizzled on speculations of a backdoor-listing of some assets of Filipino-Chinese businessman Lucio Co, although the company said it was not aware of any such plan.
Across the region, stock markets were mostly higher after the European Central Bank committed to buy bonds of debt-strapped states in the eurozone. Doris C. Dumlao