PSEi slips on inflation woes

PSE index as of January 7, 2014, 3:40 PM. Screengrab from https://www.pse.com.ph/

MANILA, Philippines–The local stock barometer slipped on Tuesday as concerns on rising local inflation, an overnight slump in Wall Street and a strong barrier at 6,000 fueled profit-taking.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index shed 38.37 points or 0.64 percent to close at 5,947.44.

Alongside sluggish regional markets, the market was weighed down by news that Philippine inflation in December had hit a two-year high of 4.1 percent.

“For this trading week, expect the market to trade sideways. On the local side, investors are on a wait-and-see stance especially with the just-released December inflation figure influencing market activity,” Metrobank said in a research note.

All counters ended in the red except for the mining/oil counter, which posted a modest gain.

Value turnover amounted to P5.11 billion.  Market breadth was negative, with 65 advancers overshadowed by 92 decliners while 35 stocks were unchanged.

Among the large-cap stocks that dragged the PSEi were URC (-3.27 percent), SM Prime (-1.37 percent), JG Summit (-3.29 percent) and Jollibee (-1.71 percent).

Other large-cap decliners were Metrobank, PLDT, Globe, Megaworld, PNB, AGI, ICTSI, AC and AEV.

On the other hand, BDO, SMIC, ALI and Semirara gained ground.

The index encountered a strong resistance near the 6,000.  It hit an intra-day high of 5,991.93 but closed nearer to the day’s low of 5,946.72.