Shares drop further on profit taking ahead of GDP

Philippine stocks dropped further on Tuesday due to profit-taking ahead of the release of fourth-quarter and full-year 2023 gross domestic product (GDP) data.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dropped by 8.67 points or 0.13% to finish at 6,622.01 on Tuesday, while the broader all shares index closed unchanged at 3,487.71.

“This Tuesday, the local market dropped by 8.67 points to 6,622.01 due to last-minute profit taking as investors took a cautious stance ahead of the release of the Philippine fourth-quarter gross domestic product growth data [on Wednesday],” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research and Engagement Officer Mikhail Philippe Q. Plopenio said in a Viber message.

Economic growth may have slowed in the fourth quarter of 2023, putting the full-year average below the government’s target, analysts said.

Philippine GDP likely expanded by 5.7% in the October-to-December period in 2023, based on a median forecast of 20 economists polled by BusinessWorld, slower than the revised 6% growth in the third quarter and the 7.1% expansion in the same period in 2022.

The same poll showed GDP growth may have averaged 5.5% in 2023, missing the Development Budget Coordination Committee’s 6-7% target.

If realized, the estimate for 2023 would be below the 7.6% expansion in 2022 and the slowest since the 9.5% contraction in 2020.

“Philippine shares traded flat as investors analyzed the latest corporate earnings with the US Federal Reserve policy meeting on the horizon. Later [on Tuesday], the data on housing, the labor market and consum-er confidence [were] expected to be released,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message.

“These numbers come as market participants finalize their expectations for Wednesday’s monetary policy announcement and subsequent press conference,” he added.

The Fed is widely expected to keep rates steady at 5.25-5.5% for the fourth straight meeting at this week’s meeting.

Back home, sectoral indices ended mixed on Tuesday. Mining and oil rose by 118.74 points or 1.3% to 9,241.94; services climbed by 8.82 points or 0.55% to 1,604.06; and holding firms increased by 33.36 points or 0.52% to 6,369.44.

On the other hand, financials retreated by 19.08 points or 1% to 1,871.59; industrials fell by 39.69 points or 0.44% to 8,975.64; and property declined by 6.11 points or 0.21% to 2,866.35.

Value turnover increased to PHP 4.48 billion on Tuesday with 550.64 million issues changing hands from the PHP 4.22 billion with 303.36 million shares seen on Monday.

Advancers and decliners were split at 91 each, while 47 names closed unchanged.

Net foreign selling stood at PHP 566.33 million on Tuesday versus the PHP 459.98 million in net buying logged on Monday. — R.M.D. Ochave