Index down anew on profit taking

MANILA, Philippines - Share prices were down anew yesterday due to profit taking, analysts said.

The PSEi retreated 0.56 percent or 40.89 points to 7,212.78, while the broader all shares index dropped 0.60 percent or 25.66 points to 4,255.15.

“Generally, the decline was brought about by an extended profit taking because the market gained so much last Sept.  8,” said Joyce Ramos, AB Capital Securities Inc. analyst.

Ramos said the market is finally pulling back at this point, something which she said analysts have been anticipating for quite a few weeks now.

“Also a factor of the decline is the foreign markets. We followed their leads,” Ramos said.

The three main indexes on Wall Street ended at a loss, with the Dow slipping 0.57 percent, the S&P 500 sliding 0.65 percent and the Nasdaq declining 0.87 percent.

All subindices were in the red for the second consecutive day. The losers were led by mining and oil firms that lost 1.56 percent or 281.79 points to 17,724.84.

The value of shares traded improved slightly to P8.95 billion from P8.63 billion on Tuesday. Decliners once again trounced advancers, 105 to 71, while 43 stocks did not change.

Among the 30 blue chip companies, Ramos said only four were gainers while the rest were either losers or did not change.