Market down as investors cash in

MANILA, Philippines — The stock market once again failed to move past the 7,000 level, snapping its two-day climb as investors took profits late in the session.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index finished yesterday’s session at 6,958.01, down by 0.22 percent or 15.4 points, while the broader All Shares index slipped by 0.05 percent or 1.73 points to settle at 3,759.55.

Philstocks Financial research manager Japhet Tantiangco said late day profit taking brought the market down as it retested but still failed to take its 7,000-resistance level.

Tantiangco said trading was lethargic with net value turnover ending below the year-to-date average of P4.96 billion.

Yesterday’s net value turnover thinned to P4.61 billion from the previous day’s P6.49 billion.

“Philippine shares closed mildly lower after touching an intraday high above 7,000 once again, with investors watching out for more economic data that will reinforce a potential rate cut in September. The prospect of easing monetary policy has many investors taking positions, reflecting broader market cautious optimism both locally and globally,” said Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital.

Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said the stock market corrected slightly lower, which can be considered a healthy correction due to profit taking.

Sectoral gauges were once again a mixed bag, with the mining and oil index leading the charge with a 0.85-percent increase.

Services, on the other hand, lost the most, declining by 0.73 percent.

Market breadth stayed positive as advancers edged out decliners, 99 to 90, while 54 issues were unchanged.

Among the index members, Nickel Asia posted the largest gain at 4.92 percent while PLDT recorded the biggest drop at 3.14 percent.