Local shares decline on last-minute profit taking

Stocks ended lower on Tuesday on last-minute profit taking ahead of a one-day trading break and tracking Wall Street’s decline overnight.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dropped by 20.24 points or 0.31% to 6,502.85 on Tuesday, while the broader all shares index went down by 6.65 points or 0.19% to close at 3,463.81.

“After [Monday’s] rally, the local bourse dropped by 20.24 points due to last-minute profit taking as investors booked gains ahead of the holiday. Moreover, negative sentiment from Wall Street overnight also weighed on market sentiment,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Analyst Claire T. Alviar said in a Viber message.

“Local shares were sold this time, as the shortened week continued with Tuesday ending in the red, with sentiment being dragged by the US tech sell-off,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message.

The PSEi tracked Wall Street lower amid tensions in Russia, Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in a Viber message.

Philippine financial markets are closed on June 28 for a regular holiday in observance of Eid’l Adha.

US stocks closed lower on Monday, as investors were wary of betting on riskier assets before seeing the outcome of Russia’s aborted weekend mutiny, Reuters reported.

The rebellion by Russian mercenaries raised questions about President Vladimir Putin’s future. While Mr. Putin on Monday thanked mercenary fighters and commanders who had stood down to avoid bloodshed, the US State department said the situation in Russia remained dynamic.

Growth stocks were among the biggest weights on the main indexes, with Meta Platforms, Inc., Alphabet, Inc., and Tesla, Inc. all falling sharply.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 12.72 points or 0.04% to 33,714.71; the S&P 500 lost 19.51 points or 0.45% to end at 4,328.82; and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 156.74 points or 1.16% to 13,335.78.

Back home, the majority of sectoral indices fell on Tuesday except for services, which jumped by 17.91 points or 1.14% to 1,586.51, and industrials, which went up by 19.72 points or 0.21% to end at 9,188.60.

Meanwhile, mining and oil declined by 91.98 points or 0.92% to 9,906.87; holding firms slid by 51 points or 0.79% to 6,391.61; property decreased by 11.96 points or 0.44% to 2,650.57; and financials fell by 5.55 points or 0.3% to 1,841.39.

Value turnover went down to PHP 4.16 billion on Tuesday with 562.94 million shares changing hands from the PHP 4.32 billion with 513.77 million issues traded on Monday.

Decliners narrowly outnumbered advancers, 84 to 82, while 55 names closed unchanged.

Net foreign buying fell to PHP 552.59 million on Tuesday from the PHP 708.27 million recorded on Monday. — A.H. Halili with Reuters