7,000 woes: The tough wall that investors just can’t tear down

The 7,000 level remained elusive as profit-takers continued to pull the benchmark index away from a seemingly tough wall that just won’t break easily.

By the closing bell on Thursday, the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) lost 0.96 percent, or 66.46 points, to 6,891.55.

The broader All Shares Index, meanwhile, declined by 0.70 percent, or 26.26 points, to 3,733.29.

A total of 958.21 million shares worth P6.63 billion changed hands as foreigners made net purchases worth P897.79 million, stock exchange data showed.

AP Securities Inc. research head Alfred Benjamin Garcia pointed out that 7,000 “has really proven to be a strong resistance since after the pandemic,” resulting in “a lot of selling pressure at that level.”

The PSEi last closed above 7,000 on Feb. 1, 2023. It has flirted with this level several times this month after the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas cut rates, but it has been unable to hold on to it.

“We think that the market is still cheap at these levels and we just need a healthy correction just to shake off the last of these sellers,” Garcia said, adding that macroeconomic indicators, such as inflation, would be the main driver of market sentiment.

The conglomerates registered the steepest decline at 1.98 percent as Sy-led SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) and Zobel family-led Ayala Corp. went down.

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Ayala Land Inc. was the most actively traded stock as it gained by 2.50 percent to P34.85 per share.

It was followed by BDO Unibank Inc., down 0.32 percent to P153.50; SMIC, down 2.80 percent to P904; International Container Terminal Services Inc., down 0.54 percent to P403; and Jollibee Foods Corp., up 1.10 percent to P257.60.

Losers outnumbered gainers, 117 to 79, while 51 companies closed unchanged, stock exchange data also showed.