Stocks retreat on profit-taking after two-day rally

PHILIPPINE SHARES retreated on Thursday as profit-taking set in following the market’s two-day rally.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) went down by 0.42% or 27.57 points to close at 6,471.25, while the broader all shares index fell by 0.34% or 12.31 points to end at 3,594.22.

“The PSEi ended lower as profit-taking persisted following a series of buying sessions across the index, marking a healthy correction as investors locked in gains, weighing on overall market sentiment and dragging key sectors lower,” Luis A. Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development Corp., said in a Viber message.

“The local market pulled back as investors took profits following a two-day rally. Negative spillovers from Wall Street also weighed on the local bourse,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Manager Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message.

The PSEi opened Thursday’s session at 6,517.19, re-testing the 6,500 resistance and rising from Wednesday’s close of 6,498.82, which was a seven-month high. It climbed to an intraday peak of 6,519.48 and posted a low of 6,454.43.

The Nasdaq and the Dow fell slightly on Wednesday, while the S&P 500 made no progress in either direction as a stronger-than-expected employment report eased worries about the economy but also fueled bets that the US Federal Reserve could slow its interest-rate cuts, Reuters reported.

Wall Street’s three main indexes had started the session on a strong note, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq hitting their highest level in more than a week after the closely watched payrolls report showed much faster than expected US job growth in January while the unemployment rate fell to 4.3%.

However, gains subsided as traders dialed back on bets for rate cuts. While traders are still banking on at least one 25-basis-point cut in June, the probability that rates would hold steady that month crept up to 41% from 24.8%, according to the latest data from CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 66.74 points or 0.13% to 50,121.40; the S&P 500 lost 0.34 point to finish at 6,941.47; and the Nasdaq Composite lost 36.01 points or 0.16% to 23,066.47.

Back home, most sectoral indices ended lower. Property dropped by 1.82% or 40.92 points to 2,200.44; financials retreated by 1.25% or 27.36 points to 2,149.26; holding firms fell by 1.06% or 55.19 points to 5,117.53; and industrials decreased by 0.28% or 26.21 points to 9,173.46. Meanwhile, mining and oil increased by 2.48% or 451.99 points to 18,620.50, and services rose by 1.83% or 49.19 points to 2,734.89.

Decliners outnumbered advancers, 122 to 78, while 65 names closed unchanged.

Value turnover fell to P6.89 billion on Thursday with 1.46 billion shares from the P9.17 billion with 2.95 billion issues that changed hands on Wednesday.

Net foreign selling was at P96.67 million, a reversal of the P834.62 million in net buying recorded in the previous session. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno