Profit-taking drags PSEi below 7,300

Higher earnings results from some listed companies failed to lift the bourse on Tuesday as traders scrambled to pocket gains ahead of the long weekend break.

By the closing bell, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) dipped by 1.41 percent, or 103.26 points, to 7,239.98 as it failed to stay in the green territory during the entire trading day, snapping a two-day winning streak.

Meanwhile, the broader All Shares Index slipped by 1.46 percent, or 58.89 points, to close at 3,977.31.

A total of 565.64 million shares worth P6.17 billion changed hands, stock exchange data showed.

Luis Limlingan, head of sales at stock brokerage house Regina Capital Development Corp., said traders locked in their gains before the “Undas” break this weekend, pulling the bourse below the 7,300 level.

The PSEi’s downtrend likewise came as Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. (Metrobank), the country’s second-largest private bank, reported record earnings in the first nine months of the year to P35.7 billion.

Investors dumped property stocks the most as the subsector slid by 2.29 percent due to declines in Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) and SM Prime Holdings Inc.

Ayala-backed Globe Telecom Inc. was the most actively traded stock as it dropped by 7.33 percent to P2,100 each.

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It was followed by BDO Unibank Inc., down 1.88 percent to P157; Bank of the Philippine Islands, down 0.14 percent to P147.20; International Container Terminal Services Inc., down 0.19 percent to P413; and ALI, down 3.18 percent to P33.50 each.

Metrobank was down 4.07 percent to P75.50; SM Prime, down 2.59 percent to P30.10; SM Investments Corp., one of the few gainers, up 0.16 percent to P965.50; Ayala Corp., down 1.88 percent to P706.50; and Converge ICT Solutions Inc., down 6.14 percent to P15.90 per share.

Losers overpowered gainers, 147 to 55, while 41 companies closed unchanged, stock exchange data showed.