Index barely moves as market consolidates

MANILA, Philippines - Local share prices barely moved yesterday as the market continued to consolidate following its recent rally.

At the Philippine Stock Exchange, the composite index pulled back for the third straight session, shedding less than a point to close at the day’s low of 6,295.55.

“The PSEi moved sideways as most investors are locking in gains at the 6,300 level. Corrections are healthy though,” said Freya Natividad, investment analyst at Papa Securties.

Prior to the three-day skid, the local barometer was on a six-day winning streak that pushed the main index to 6,352.76, its highest level for the year.

Overnight, the S&P 500 touched record levels fuelled by gains in healthcare shares and talks of more mergers as investors shunned softer-than-estimated economic data.

The S&P 500 increased 0.6 percent to finish at 1,847.61 after briefly surpassing its previous record of 1,858.71 on Jan. 15.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 103.84 points, or 0.6 percent, to 16,207.14.

Decliners beat advancers, 92 to 64, while 51 issues were unchanged.

Value turnover slid to P8.52 billion from yesterday’s P10.20 billion, as 3.42 billion were traded.

Most actively traded stocks were Megaworld, Universal Robina, SM Prime, BDO and PLDT. Top gainers were Leisure and Resorts, Synergy Grid and Megaworld warrants, while the biggest losers were Jolliville, Primex and Splash.