PSEi loses 0.76% as investors take profits

The local stock barometer fell below the 7,400 mark on Wednesday, uninspired by a rosy sovereign credit rating outlook given by global credit watchdog Fitch Ratings.

Bucking mostly upbeat regional markets, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) lost 56.3 points, or 0.76 percent, to close at 7,383.10.

“It looks like investors took profits in anticipation of hitting resistance at 7,500,” said Manuel Lisbona, president of PNB Securities Inc.

This was even as Fitch Ratings changed its outlook on Philippine sovereign credit to “positive” from “stable,” which means another credit rating upgrade would be possible in the next 12 to 24 months. This brings the country another step closer to its A-rating status.

“The Fitch announcement was likely already discounted and hence, investors sold on news,” Lisbona said.

All counters ended in the red, led by the industrial, services and mining/oil counters, which all fell by over 1 percent.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P6 billion. Foreigners took advantage of the day’s decline to pick up some stocks, resulting in P241.31 million in net foreign buying.

There were 122 decliners that overwhelmed 63 advancers, while 51 stocks were unchanged.Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and International Container Terminal Services Inc. both declined by over 3 percent, while Megaworld Corp. lost 2 percent.

Universal Robina Corp. shed 1.56 percent while SM Prime Holdings Inc., Ayala Land Inc., Ayala Corp., GT Capital Holdings Inc., BDO Unibank Inc. and Globe Telecom Inc. all shed less than 1 percent.

Notable decliners outside the PSEi included ISM, which fell by 11.21 percent. On the other hand, newly-listed Fruitas fell by 8 percent, while Manila Water Co. Inc. declined by 2.48 percent.

On the other hand, Bank of the Philippine Islands, SM Investments Corp. and PLDT Inc. gained slightly.

Outside the PSEi, one notable gainer was PLC, which rose by 2 percent.

Elsewhere in the region, trading was mostly upbeat as novel coronavirus jitters eased amid growing expectations that the infection and body count would soon peak given containment measures in China and across the region.