Local shares closed lower for the third straight day on Thursday as profit taking dragged them out of the 7,000 area.
The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) declined by 1.05 percent or 73.76 points to close at 6,927.75 while the broader All Shares lost 1.10 percent or 46.19 points to finish at 4,138.09.
AAA Equities Head of Research Christopher Mangun attributed the extended retreat to profit taking. He said last-minute buying of shares of large-cap Universal Robina Corp. (URC), SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) and Ayala Land Inc. allowed the market to trim losses.
URC, SMIC and Ayala Land shares gained 4.15 percent, 0.39 percent and 0.66 percent, respectively, on Thursday.
Mangun also noted concerns on whether quarantine restrictions would be relaxed further or even lifted, but voiced confidence “that the government will ease [these] and allow more mobility as new coronavirus cases continue to decline.”
As of Thursday, the number of these cases jumped by 1,392 to 424,297, of which 28,789 are active, according to the latest Department of Health tally. Of the total figure, 387,266 have recovered and 8,242 died from the highly infectious respiratory disease.
Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis Limlingan said local stocks were further sold down ahead of window dressing, MSCI rebalancing and the United States’ celebration of Thanksgiving, one of its most treasured holidays.
US stocks also took a breather after they soared past the 30,000 level earlier this week and amid gloomy unemployment data.
Wall Street mostly sank overnight, with the Dow Jones and S&P 500 dipping by 0.58 percent and 0.16 percent, respectively. Nasdaq inched up by 0.48 percent.
The Dow surged above 30,000 points for the first time on Tuesday, fueled by ebbing US political uncertainty that offset worries about rising coronavirus cases in the world’s largest economy.
The record rise was seen as a response to the Trump administration allowing US President-elect Joe Biden and his transition team to formally begin a peaceful turnover of power, clearing the way for them to access funds, office space and meet with federal government officials. This despite outgoing President Donald Trump’s relentlessly claiming without basis that the November 3 presidential election was rigged.
Meanwhile, new applications for jobless claims in the US saw their second back-to-back
weekly increase, according to government data released on Wednesday, raising concerns that a renewed economic downturn is beginning.
The US Labor Department said 778,000 seasonally adjusted initial claims were filed in the week ending November 21, more than analysts had forecasted and an increase of 30,000 from the previous week’s upwardly revised figure.
All local sectors fell, with mining and oil plunging the most at 2.78 percent.
Total volume turnover was at 3.28 billion valued at P15.49 billion.
Losers led winners,148 to 69, while 46 securities were unchanged.
WITH A REPORT FROM AFP