Bourse suffers ‘jinx’, stays below 8,000

Stock market stakeholders call it as almost “a jinx.”

The stock index in the days after the visit of President Aquino to the bourse had refused to rise back to the 8,000 point level, ending the week at 7,946.89 down by 0.02 percent or 1.31 points.

The broader all-share index managed to eke a small of gain of 0.06 percent or 2.54 points to 4,536.86.

Trading volume reached 1.53 billion shares worth P35.01 billion with 97 stocks advancing, 82 declining, and 41 were unchanged.

Two of the six counters bucked the trend. These were the holding firm and the services sector.

“Valuation concerns have apparently entered the consciousness of investors after the local equities racked up record after record closes. To date, the index has written 27 fresh all-time closing records, eight of which transpired in the last 13 sessions alone,” analyst Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said.

The index initially touched an intra-day low of 7,919.61 before picking up momentum and edging higher to touch an intra-day high of 7,996.44 before investors decided to book their gains.

Calaycay said the weight of 27 new record closing highs over a span of three-and-a half months against the backdrop of a stingy news cycle opened the “profit taking” door for investors.

“It will remain a rather touch-and-go and may even spill over to the succeeding week unless new, positive catalysts surface,” he said.

At the end of the day, the analyst said the long-term trend of the local stock market continues to be bullish and it is the short to the medium term that must be closely watched for hints of possible reversal.

Stocks in the 30-company index were mostly down. These were the Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., Ayala Land Inc. and Megaworld Corp.

A day after a special bell ringing done no less than the President of the Philippines to celebrate the local stock market’s ascent above 8,000-mark, the local benchmark index dived to a 15-day low on Wednesday.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) plunged by 150.03 points, or 1.86 percent on profit-taking and closed below 8,000 for the first time in seven days, to 7,906.46.

Not one single sector was spared during Wednesday’s bloodbath, as all sub-indexes posted losses above one percent, with mining and oil stocks bearing the heaviest percentage point losses at 4.13 percent.

Analysts in the previous days had been hinting a correction but were quick to say there is no cause for panic. Analysts acknowledged the market is now “very expensive” and that it was ripe for profit-taking.

The broader All Shares index also plunged 1.85 percent, losing 85.03 points, to close at 4,520.89.

Wednesday’s slide follows a contraction in the world’s second largest economy in the first quarter of the year. In a report, Chinese authorities reported a GDP growth of only seven percent in the months of January through March, down by 0.3 percent from the fourth quarter of 2014.

Previously, official data on Chinese import and export were also disappointing, as it junked market expectations a stronger performance.

Another factor in the local stock market’s decline in the previous days is the revision of the outlook for the US economy by the International Monetary Fund. The IMF said the world’s largest economy will grow from 3.6 to only 3.1 by the end of this year.

The US and China are two of the largest trading partners of the Philippines.

While the falling prices of oil may be good to oil-importing countries, the IMF said it is hurting oil-exporting economies. The same effect is experienced by countries exporting commodities, including iron ore, copper, and other base metals.

Losers overwhelmed gainers yesterday, 158 against 41, with 35 neutrals. Turnover jumped from Php 8 billion on Tuesday to Php 12 billion.

The mood continued to be the same in Thursday as the PSEi further fell to 7,883.08.

Bloodbath continued in the market as all sectors are on the red territory, with 100 decliners, twice as much as 50 advancers.