PSEi slips below 6,500 on year’s last trading day

Investors decided to cash in some gains on the last day of trading for the year, prompting the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) to slip below the 6,500 territory.The benchmark PSEi fell by 1.06 percent, or 69.07 percent, to close at 6,450.04, while the wider All-Shares index slipped by 0.47 percent, or 16 points, to settle at 3,424.59.

The main index declined 1.77 percent from last year’s closing of 6,566.39.

“Philippine shares were sold down as funds took profit to close out 2023,” Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said.

All subsectors ended in the green except for holding firms and property, which registered 3.41-percent dip and 0.86-percent drop, respectively. Mining and oil index booked most gains with 2.03-percent uptick.

About 1.12 billion shares amounting to P4.88 billion were traded. Winners led losers, 118-78, while 49 issues were unchanged.

The most actively traded shares, SM Prime Holdings, slid by 2.08 percent to P32.90.

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This was followed by SM Investments Corp., down 2.46 percent to P872; Universal Robina Corp., up 1.29 percent to P118.20; Jollibee Foods Corp., up 0.64 percent to P251.40; International Container Terminal Services Inc., up 1.90 percent to P246.80; and VistaREIT Inc., down 0.60 percent to P1.67.

Other active names were Ayala Land Inc., up 0.15 percent to P34.45; BDO Unibank Inc., up 1.08 percent to P130.50; Ayala Corp., down 3.40 percent to P681; and Bank of the Philippine Islands, down 0.67 percent to P103.80. This year, four companies underwent voluntary delistings, including Holcim Philippines, Metro Pacific Investments Corp., 2GO Group Inc. and Eagle Cement. Alternergy Holdings Corp., Upson International Corp. and Repower Energy Development Corp., meanwhile, conducted initial public offerings. —Tyrone Jasper C. Piad INQ