PSEi clings to 6,600 level

THE LOCAL stock barometer slipped on Friday but stayed afloat the 6,600 level as sluggish global markets soured investor sentiment.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 8.98 points or 0.14 percent to close at 6,654.45. Across the region, stock markets were sluggish due to a string of concerns on the global economy.

For the week – the first trading week of the Lunar Year of the Fire Monkey – shed a total of 110.68 points or 1.6 percent.

The PSEi was led lower by the property counter, which slumped by 1.07 percent while the financial, industrial and services counters also slipped.

On the other hand, the mining/oil counter bucked the downturn, gaining 1.29 percent while holding firms also modestly gained.

There were 62 advancers which were overwhelmed by 109 decliners while 34 stocks were unchanged.

The local stock barometer was weighed down by SM Prime, Megaworld and FGEN, which fell by 2 percent while Jollibee, SMC and MPI all slumped by over 1 percent.

URC, the day’s most actively traded stock, fell by 0.88 percent.

On the other hand, the PSE’s decline was curbed by the gains of Petron, which rose by 7.45 percent while JG Summit advanced by 2.14 percent. SMIC gained 1.06 percent.

GTCAP, PLDT and Metrobank also eked out modest gains.

Outside of the PSEi, Lepanto rallied by 13.79 percent, boosting the mining/oil index.