Profit taking caps four-day rally in stocks

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - Profit taking capped the four day rally in the stock market.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index closed lower today, down by 1.2 percent or 78.44 points to 6,448.18. The broader all-share index slipped by 0.69 percent or 27.53 points to 3,943.73.

Trading volume reached 1.04 billion shares worth P8.2 billion ($189.42 million) with 77 stocks declining, 71 advancing, and 50 were unchanged.

All six counters were down.

"The weight of sustaining a four-session run was too much to bear sending profit-takers to cash in their gains even as futures indexes suggest the run in Europe and the U.S. may extend for another day," analyst Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said in his daily stock market comment.

Calaycay said except for some economic data from the United States, Europe, and Asia, leads continue to be try from the domestic front.

Even the upcoming release of the inflation data might not move the market significantly unless it pulls a huge surprise, Calaycay said.

"Early positioning for the second quarter and first semester corporate numbers may drive selective purchases of top-line counters, particularly those that exhibited positive results through the first three months of the years," Calaycay said.

The analyst nevertheless noted that it seems that the headwinds of June have already passed as seen by the significant rebound of the market during the past four sessions.

Stocks in the 30-company index closed mixed. Globe Telecom, Inc. , Megaworld Corp., and heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. closed lower.

Investors picked up SM Investments Corp.  

In other news, major property firm Ayala Land Inc. (ALI) is going into the hospital business to integrate medical facilities in its mixed-use communities nationwide. ALI has signed an agreement to acquire Whiteknight Holdings, Inc., a company which is wholly-owned by the Mercado family and a 33 percent equity stockholder of Mercado General Hospital, Inc. (MGHI).

"This partnership will accelerate the provision of medical facilities in our new and existing integrated, mixed-use community, " ALI CEO Antonino Aquino said.

"Together with our traditional residential, office, shopping center and hotel products, the new medical facilities will further enhance and complete our communities, making them the center of development in their region," he added.