PSEi dips on profit taking as peso hits 2-month low --[Reported by Umva mag]

By Sheldeen Joy Talavera, Reporter

PHILIPPINE STOCKS continued to drop on Thursday as investors booked gains, and as markets grew more confident about a patient approach by the US Federal Reserve to further monetary easing.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 0.17% or 13.05 points to close at 7,411.47. The broader all-share index gained 0.1% or 4.16 points to 4,037.52.

“Investors continued to take profits amid the peso’s sustained depreciation, now going further below the P57 mark,” Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco, senior research analyst at Philstocks Financial, Inc., said in a Viber message.

The peso dropped by 34 centavos to close at a two-month low of P57.36 against the dollar, according to Bankers Association of the Philippines data posted on its website.

Jayniel Carl S. Manuel, an equity trader at Seedbox Securities, Inc., said the index decline was “driven by a combination of factors, including profit taking, as investors locked in gains from the recent market rally.”

“The weaker Philippine peso, coupled with rising US Treasury yields, was also exerting a downward pressure on the index,” he said in an e-mail. “However, the overall market outlook remains bullish, largely driven by expectations of monetary easing by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.”

Jovis L. Vistan, vice-president at AB Securities, Inc., said the slight dip comes after “an impressive run, as it has been one of the top-performing markets in Asia, alongside China.”

“It’s only natural for the market to undergo some consolidation following its strong performance,” he said in a Viber message.

Sectoral indexes were split on Thursday. Services fell by 1.55% or 36.02 points to 2,282.36, while mining and oil lost 0.98% or 87.21 points to 8,736.51. The industrial index went down by 0.29% or 29.38 points to 9,935.63.

On the other hand, the property index gained 0.55% or 16.21% to 2,950.95, while holding companies added 0.28% or 17.68 points to 6,299.15. The financial index gained 0.18% or 4.43 points to 2,363.97.

Value turnover declined to P5.59 billion from P5.3 billion, even as the volume rose to 1.07 billion from 917.06 million stocks.

Losers beat winners 111 to 99, while 48 stocks were unchanged. Net foreign selling fell to P73.58 million on Thursday from P402.75 million on Wednesday.

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