Local stock barometer falls as investors pocket gains

The local bourse succumbed to last-minute profit-taking on Monday after trading in the green territory within the day as investors gauged the current political environment and took cover ahead of earnings reports.

By the end of the session, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index shed 0.09 percent, or 5.46 points, to close at 6,084.07.

Likewise, the broader All Shares Index lost 0.09 percent, or 3.16 points, to end at 3,661.92.

A total of 1.86 billion shares worth P3.65 billion changed hands, stock exchange data showed.

Traders mostly stayed on the sidelines and remained cautious “while weighing bargain opportunities against downside risks to local economic prospects,” including corruption investigations and global headwinds, said Japhet Tantiangco, research head at Philstocks Financial Inc.

International Container Terminal Services Inc. was the most actively traded stock as it lost 0.65 percent to P539. It was followed by BDO Unibank Inc., down 0.79 percent to P138.60; Ayala Land Inc., down 0.44 percent to P22.45; Manila Electric Co., up 2.33 percent to P570; and Manila Water Co. Inc., down 2.16 percent to P34 each.

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Others were: Ayala Corp., down 0.46 percent to P475; Puregold Price Club Inc., down 5.06 percent to P37.50; Philex Mining Corp., down 1.25 percent to P9.49; SM Investments Corp., down 0.13 percent to P745; and MRC Allied Inc., down 4.27 percent to P1.12 per share.

Losers outnumbered gainers, 122 to 75, while 50 companies closed flat, stock exchange data also showed.