Stocks close flat on profit-taking

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Stock Exchange index posted marginal losses today as investors started booking their gains.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 0.1 percent or 0.64 of a point to 6,587.08, while the broader all-share index managed to eke a gain of 0.16 percent or 6.32 points to 3,956.49.

Trading volume reached 898 million shares worth P8.97 billion ($199.20 million) with 97 stocks advancing, 71 declining, and 47 were unchanged.

Of the six counters, only the industrial and the property sectors bucked the trend.

In his earlier report, Analyst Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities, Inc., said the sudden surge of the index from 6, 315.69 last March 27 to above 6,600 on Monday already represents a gain of over 280 points or roughly 4.5 percent.

The last three days contributed at least a percent each and technical indicators are suggesting of a bullish projections already.

The analyst however warned that the emergence that investors sharing the view that the index could hit 6,900 this year should raise some alarm.

"This should bring to the table some warnings on a possible near-term correction of the four-day advance. It is not to suggest that investors should begin to take a contrarian stance, but we are strongly recommending investors not to change their strategies on the basis of the recent run," Calaycay said.

On Thursday, after touching a high of 6,618.53, investors booked their gains and erased the day's profits. By the final bell, buyers failed to outsmart sellers.

Calaycay nevertheless said he remains firm of his projections that the index could hit 6,900 this year.

Among those that were sold down were Ayala Corp., Banco de Oro Unibank, Inc., and SM Investments Corp.