Stocks fall on profit taking

MANILA, Philippines — Local stocks declined yesterday as some investors took profits ahead of the holidays.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Composite index (PSEi) shed 2.24 percent to close at 6,525.16 while the broader All-Shares index slipped to 3,425.86, down by 1.49 percent.

Four out of the six sectoral gauges slipped in the red, with only mining & oil and services ending in the green.

There is no trading today (Dec.8) in observance of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.

Total value turnover reached P6 billion. Market breadth was negative, 104 to 68 while 47 issues were left unchanged.

Mikhail Plopenio, researcher at Philstocks Financials, said the local market pulled back as investors took profits after a huge climb on Tuesday.

“Negative spillovers from Wall street and neighboring markets also weighed on sentiment. Investors also digested the decline in the number of our labor force participants and employed of 1.5 percent and one percent, month-on-month respectively,” he said.

Meanwhile, Asian stocks extended a global sell-off yesterday while oil held losses on growing fears Federal Reserve monetary tightening would tip the US economy into recession.

The drop followed another day deep in the red for New York’s three main indexes after the heads of Wall Street’s leading banks warned of tough times ahead in 2023.

JPMorgan Chase chief Jamie Dimon tipped a “mild to hard recession” and Goldman Sachs’ David Solomon said jobs and pay would be hit, while Morgan Stanley and Bank of America were also uneasy about the outlook.

The comments added to the downbeat mood that has coursed through trading floors at the start of the week, after forecast-beating reports on jobs and the giant US services sector fanned worries the Fed will have to push interest rates higher than hoped.

Markets had been rising healthily ahead of Friday’s employment figures after a weaker-than-expected inflation reading for October suggested the almost year-long tightening campaign was finally affecting prices.