Philippine shares drop as market looks for leads

Philippine shares retreated anew on Wednesday as investors weighed listed companies’ financial results while awaiting fresh trading drivers.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dropped by 0.4% or 22.95 points to close at 5,693.20, while the broader all shares index decreased by 0.11% or 3.56 points to 3,200.62.

The benchmark index opened Wednesday trading at 5,713.61, a tad lower than Tuesday’s close of 5,716.15. It reached an intraday high of 5,732.15, while its low for the session was at 5,685.30.

AP Securities, Inc. said selling pressure toward the end of the session dragged the PSEi below the 5,700 mark as investors awaited the results of MSCI’s November index review.

“The local bourse ended lower as investors continued to digest the ongoing release of corporate earnings from major index heavyweights, with results shaping overall market sentiment. Trading remained cautious as market participants assessed corporate performance against expectations and evaluated near-term earnings prospects,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message.

He said investors remain cautious as they look for more leads for clearer market direction.

Among the index heavyweights that released their financial results on Wednesday was International Container Terminal Services, Inc. (ICTSI), which reported a 15.4% increase in third-quarter attributable net income to USD 308.90 million from USD 267.72 million, supported by higher revenues from port operations and contributions from newly added terminals.

For the first nine months, its attributable net income climbed 19.6% to USD 898.89 million from USD 751.56 million in the same period last year.

Meanwhile, Sy-led SM Investments Corp. saw a 9% increase in consolidated net income to PHP 70.2 billion for the first nine months, driven by contributions from its banking, property, retail and portfolio investment businesses. Its consolidated revenues also increased by 5% to PHP 506.8 billion.

Four of the six sectoral indices closed lower. Services declined by 1.98% or 56.33 points to 2,784.39; mining and oil retreated by 1.52% or 295.10 points to 19,106.31; holding firms decreased by 0.33% or 14.44 points to 4,397.07; and financials went down by 0.1% or 1.78 points to 1,843.76.

Meanwhile, industrial jumped by 1.47% or 108.48 points to 7,477.30, and property rose by 0.75% or 13.27 points to 1,793.67.

Decliners narrowly outnumbered advancers, 85 to 81, while 65 names ended the session unchanged.

Value turnover fell to PHP 6.08 billion on Wednesday with 939.4 million shares traded from the PHP 7.46 billion with 670.11 million issues that changed hands on Tuesday.

Net foreign buying was at PHP 55.36 million, a turnaround from the PHP 183.81 million in net selling recorded in the previous session. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno