Profit-taking ends market’s 5-day climb

MANILA, Philippines — The local bourse kicked off the second semester on a sour note as investors pocketed gains following last week’s rally.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index snapped its five-day winning streak yesterday, shedding 0.20 percent or 13.14 points to close at 6,398.77.

Also finishing in the negative territory was the broader All Shares index, which slipped by 0.21 percent or 7.19 points to settle at 3,479.47.

“Philippine shares started the second half of 2024 softly, slipping 13 points to fall just below the 6,400 mark as investors brace themselves for a new batch of economic data,” Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital said.

Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. chief economist Michael Ricafort said yesterday’s decline is considered as a “healthy profit-taking,” with the local stock market gauge correcting slightly lower after rising for five straight days.

“The local stock market gauge, the PSEi, corrected slightly lower, considered healthy profit-taking,” Ricafort said.

Total value turnover throughout the session was thin at P3.3 billion.

All counters were in the red except for financials, which eked out a 0.12 percent increase.

Holding firms posted the biggest loss at 0.56 percent, followed by services, which fell by 0.47 percent.

Market breadth was negative as decliners crushed advancers, 103 to 83, while 53 issues were unchanged.

Two SM Group companies were among the most actively traded stocks, with SM Prime Holdings declining by 1.06 percent and SM Investments adding 0.18 percent.