PSEi drops to 7,800, profit-taking blamed
Credit to Author: ANGELICA BALLESTEROS, TMT| Date: Wed, 27 Mar 2019 17:12:18 +0000
THE stock market pulled back to the 7,800 level on Wednesday as investors took profits following the previous day’s gains.
The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dropped by 0.58 percent or 45.98 points to close at 7,861.05. The wider All Shares decreased by 0.51 percent or 24.55 points to finish at 4,835.90.
Timson Securities Inc. trader Jervin de Celis said the market retreated as investors cashed in following Tuesday’s slight rebound from Monday’s nearly 2-percent plunge.
“Market players may also have [traded] in the absence of fresh catalysts to push back the index back above the 8,000 level,” he added.
Eagle Equities Inc. research head Christopher Mangun said the market would likely trade sideways until the release of March inflation data next week.
The PSEi’s dip came during a day of mixed results for Asian markets.
Hong Kong rose 0.6 percent and Shanghai finished 0.9 percent higher with Sydney adding 0.1 percent and Singapore up 0.4 percent.
Mumbai rose 0.5 percent and Wellington surged 1.3 percent after the New Zealand central bank hinted at an interest rate cut. However, Tokyo and Seoul each slipped 0.2 percent, while Taipei and Bangkok also retreated.
Regional advances were attributed to overnight gains on Wall Street but traders were said to be still on edge about the global economy.
Still, OANDA senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley said the reaction to last week’s so-called yield curve inversion — which was last seen ahead of the financial crisis a decade ago — had been “quickly consigned to history.”
He added that “the volte-face in sentiment suggests to me that despite all the noise, markets are flip-flopping on short-term data as we await the conclusion of the only real game in town: the US-China trade talks.”
Top-level negotiators will on Thursday meet up again to try to hammer out an agreement with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer telling National Public Radio: “If there’s a great deal to be gotten, we’ll get it. If not, we’ll find another plan.”
In early trade, meanwhile, London rose 0.3 percent, Frankfurt added 0.2 percent and Paris put on 0.1 percent.
Back in Manila, only the services sector finished higher, up 0.04 percent. All others slipped.
More than 1.2 billion shares valued at P5.6 billion were traded.
Losers led winners, 139 to 71, while 49 issues remained unchanged.
With a reports from AFP
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