Market dips on profit taking

MANILA, Philippines —  The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) inched down as investors cashed in on gains from Tuesday’s rally that catapulted the market to its highest level in four months.

Despite declining by 0.23 percent or 15.01 points, the PSEi managed to stay above the 6,500 mark, finishing yesterday’s session at 6,551.81.

The broader All Shares index also closed in the negative territory, slipping by 0.17 percent or 6.45 points to 3,798.88.

“The local market declined as investors decided to take profits following a two-day rally. Investors are also trading cautiously while moving through the first quarter corporate results,” Philstocks Financial research manager Japhet Tantiangco said.

Tantiangco said that trading remained strong with net value turnover at P7 billion, higher than year-to-date average of P5.53 billion.

Sectoral gauges were a mixed bag, with the property index leading those in the green with a 2.89 percent jump, while holding firms lost the most with a 1.53 percent drop.

Market breadth was negative as decliners crushed advancers, 114 to 82, while 46 issues were unchanged.

ICTSI was the top traded stock, increasing by 0.98 percent to P411 per share, followed by Ayala Land with a 4.44-percent jump to P23.50.

Aboitiz Equity Ventures was the session’s top index gainer, surging by 9.56 percent to P37.25.

Asian stocks fluctuated yesterday, with investors struggling to track a strong day on Wall Street as euphoria over the China-US trade detente petered out.

While the days of breathtaking volatility seen through April appear to be over for now, analysts warned that more work was needed for Washington to reach tariff deals with countries and instill a sense of stability.