Market eases as investors take profits after solid gains

Share prices closed 0.24 percent lower yesterday as investors took some modest profits after solid gains last week, dealers said.

Losses were trimmed by support for market leader Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) on expectations the company will post another set of positive results for the three months to September, they said.

The composite index fell 4.77 points to 1,954.74 after trading between 1,951.16 and 1,964.48. Turnover was 521.1 million shares worth 592.4 million.

The broader all-shares index gained 0.05 point to 1,186.73.

Losers outnumbered gainers 44 to 26 with 47 stocks closing flat.

"I view last week’s rally as a mere technical rebound and given the absence of fresh leads, there is nothing yet that could spur a further rise," said Jonathan Ravelas of Banco de Oro Universal Bank.

The market advanced steadily on the back of technical rebound last week but slipped on Friday after the central bank raised its key interest rates by a quarter percentage point, its second rate increase this year.

Dealers said the rate hike may have been widely anticipated but investors will be watching to see what the impact will be.

SM Investments rose P7 to P213 while unit SM Prime Holdings gained 10 centavos to P7.50.

San Miguel A, limited to Filipino investors, was up 50 centavos to P66 and San Miguel B, open to all, advanced 50 centavos to P94.

"There’s no direction right now in the market, because of the lack of fresh leads for investors to follow," said Westlink Global Equities chairman Rommel Macapagal.

Major contributors to the fall were Ayala Corp., which lost 2.6 percent at P28, and its unit Ayala Land, lower by 1.3 percent at P7.90.

Another active stock was Ayala affiliate Globe Telecom, which fell 0.7 percent to P765.

Limiting the market’s fall were PLDT which rose 0.9 percent to P1,650, and SM Prime, up 1.4 percent to P7.50.

Decliners led gainers 44 to 26, while 47 stocks were unchanged. – AFP, AP