Stocks edge lower on profit-taking

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine stock market opened in negative territory yesterday as investors took profits in the absence of fresh leads.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) finished at 6,609.22, down by 20.42 points or 0.31 percent. The broader All Shares index slipped 3.01 points or 0.09 percent to 3,499.51.

Most of the gauges were down except for property and industrial.

Joseph Roxas of Eagle Equities said investors may have taken profits from the market after the recent rallies.

Total value turnover was thin at P4.3 billion. Market breadth was positive, 99 to 93 while 51 issues were unchanged.

Other markets in Asia were also down as Chinese stocks extended their recent retreat, and investors braced for US inflation data and a corporate reporting season where robust results are needed to justify high valuations.

Geopolitical tensions were also on the radar as disruptions in the Red Sea raised shipping costs in Europe, while the Israeli conflict with Hamas threatened to spread to Lebanon.

Inflation data from China and Tokyo are also due this week, with analysts looking for deflation to ease a touch in China.

In currency markets, the dollar surrendered a sliver of its recent gains to stand at 144.37 yen, having climbed 2.5 percent last week from 140.80.

The euro was almost flat at $1.0936, after slipping 0.9 percent last week.

The dollar’s rally was a headwind for gold, which eased 0.5 percent to $2,036 an ounce.

Oil prices shed early gains to turn lower as price cuts from Saudi Arabia offset the risk of supply disruptions in the Red Sea.

Wall Street’s worry is the strong data could also convince the Federal Reserve that inflation remains a hazard. But another report on Friday showed that growth for finance, real estate and other companies in the US services industries slowed by more than economists expected last month.

Altogether, the data could bolster Wall Street’s building hopes for a perfect landing for the economy, one where it slows just enough through high interest rates to stamp out high inflation but not so much that it causes a recession.