PSEi slips below 8,500 on foreign selling

The local stock barometer ended the week on a sluggish mood ahead of the Edsa Revolution anniversary, slipping below the 8,500 mark on Friday despite the upswing seen across regional markets.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell by 48.01 points or 0.56 percent to close at 8,467.56, weighed down by heavy selling by foreign investors.

Investors are pricing in risks that “something may happen on Feb. 25,” the 32nd anniversary of the Edsa Revolution that toppled the Marcos dictatorship, a senior stock dealer said.

For the week, the first week under the new Lunar Year of the Dog, the PSEi lost a total of 144.88 points or 1.68 percent.

Except for the mining/oil counter, which gained 1.15 percent, all other counters tumbled. The most battered was the financial counter, which slipped by 1.11 percent.

Total value turnover for the day amounted to P9.24 billion. Net foreign selling amounted to P1.04 billion.

In the past few days, investors have been pricing into the market an uptick in local inflation and interest rates alongside the stream of fourth quarter 2017 corporate earnings reports.

There were 122 decliners that edged out 91 advancers while 39 stocks were unchanged.

The PSE was dragged down by BDO, URC and JG Summit, which all fell by more than 2 percent.

SM Prime declined by 1.53 percent while Ayala Land and AGI also slipped.

On the other hand, Metro Pacific gained 2.13 percent and SM Investments added 1.05 percent.

Ayala Corp., GT Capital, ICTSI and BPI also slightly gained.

Investors also accumulated stocks outside the PSEi. MRC Allied, for instance, surged by 48.72 percent and was the day’s second most actively traded company.

Now Corp., the day’s most actively traded company, gained 4.39 percent. Its affiliate, Now Telecom, bagged a 25-year franchise renewal from Congress, seen as a boost to its aspiration to be the third telecom player in the country.

PXP Energy, a beneficiary of warmer Philippine-China diplomatic relations amid long-stalled oil exploration discussions, rallied by 6.87 percent.