PSEi falls below 6,000 on profit-taking  

Local stocks retreated on Thursday as investors locked in gains after two straight days of rally, while geopolitical conflicts dampened sentiment.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) fell 0.99 percent or 59.7 points, to close at 5,984.20.

Philstocks financial research manager Japhet Tantiangco said the market pulled back as investors took profits, with caution also driven by renewed conflict in the Middle East.

This followed Iran’s statement that it had no intention of holding talks with the United States, clouding prospects of easing geopolitical conflicts.

Luis Limlingan, head of sales at stock brokerage house Regina Capital Development Corp., said the Philippine market declined after ending in the green in the previous session, as investors engaged in profit-taking and maintained short-term positions amid persistent uncertainty in the Middle East.

“Sentiment was further weighed down by inflation concerns, with expectations that price growth could exceed the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) target ceiling of 4 percent after BSP maintained key policy rate in an off-cycle meeting,” Limlingan said.

Trading remained subdued, with net value turnover at P4.23 billion, reflecting weak participation among investors.

Foreign funds continued to exit, posting net outflows of P135.29 million for the session.

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Sectoral performance was broadly negative, with only mining and oil posting gains (up 1.14 percent).

The banking sector led the decline, dropping 1.36 percent, while the rest of the sectors also finished in the red.

Market breadth was negative as decliners outpaced advancers, 100 to 78.