Stocks tumble on profit taking

MANILA, Philippines — The local stock market ended the week on a sour note as investors cashed in on gains following a two-day rally.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index slipped by 0.28 percent, or 16.19 points, ending the session at 5,761.95.

The broader All Shares index likewise tumbled by 0.35 percent, or 11.16 points, to cap off the week at 3,218.31.

“The local bourse ended lower, tracking weakness across global markets that weighed on overall investor sentiment,” Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital said. 

Limlingan said the negative external cues prompted profit taking across the board as investors opted to lock in gains following two consecutive sessions of advances. 

Meanwhile, he said market participants remained cautious amid lingering macroeconomic uncertainties while awaiting fresh catalysts to sustain the recent recovery.

Philstocks Financial, for its part, said negative cues from Wall Street affected yesterday’s session.

It said investors also decided to take a cautious stance ahead of the release of the third quarter gross domestic product data on Monday, Nov. 9.

“Investors are expecting third quarter economic growth to have remained anemic,” Philstocks Financial said.

Total turnover value stood at P6.36 billion, slightly higher than Thursday’s P6.17 billion.

All sectors were in the red, except for financials, which climbed by 1.24 percent. Services posted the biggest drop of 1.39 percent.

Decliners outnumbered advancers, 96 to 69, while 70 issues were unchanged.

The session’s most actively traded stock was ICTSI, which fell by 1.57 percent to P817 per share, followed by BDO Unibank and Ayala Corp., which gained by 1.71 percent and 2.49 percent, respectively, to P125 and P555.