PSEi slips on profit-taking

THE LOCAL stock barometer pulled back to the 6,800 level on Friday as investors pocketed gains after a three-day rally.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 64.37 points or 0.92 percent to close at 6,899.07. Elsewhere in the region, stock markets were mostly firmer ahead of the upcoming US jobs data.

At the local market, the PSEi hovered near the 7,000 mark for two consecutive days but encountered selling close to this level.

The day’s decline was led by the holding firms and services counters which both fell by over 1 percent. The property and industrial counters also slipped.

On the other hand, the mining/oil counter was up by 2.11 percent while the financial counter slightly firmed up.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P6.9 billion. Despite the PSEi’s overall decline, there were 90 advancers that edged out 83 decliners while 42 stocks were unchanged.

The PSEi was dragged down by ICTSI which fell by 5.2 percent while MPI, PLDT, SMIC and SM Prime all tumbled by over 2 percent.

Jollibee and Globe were likewise down by over 1 percent while URC, AC, GTCAP and BPI also faltered.

On the other hand, Metrobank, BDO and EDC posted modest gains.

Outside of the PSEi, the notable gainers were tycoon Lucio Co’s Davin (+29.16 percent) and Puregold (+1.5 percent) alongside gaming firm Melco (+7.66 percent).