Profit-taking, El Niño push down RP stock index

(Updated) — Profit-taking pushed down local share prices on Thursday, with the local stock index dipping again below the psychological 3,000 level and bucking a slight gain on Wall Street overnight. The Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 0.62 percent or 18.73 points to 2,999.94, with only one of the six subindices rising. “After several days of run-up with heavy value turnover, the market took a pause. There was some mild profit-taking," First Grade Holdings Managing Director Astro del Castillo said in an interview. Analysts also traced the drop to investor concerns about the effects of a prolonged dry spell on agricultural output. “One factor for the drop was concern over El Niño, the negative effects of the drought on agricultural output," said analyst Jasper Jimenez of BDO Securities Corp. But analysts expect the composite index to move up in the coming days given positive sentiment abroad. “We might recover again tomorrow through follow-through selling. I guess the market should still be bullish. I'm looking at sentiments abroad. Hong Kong is only slightly down, Japan is up and the US market seems poised to still go up," Jimenez pointed out. Del Castillo said he was not worried about the dip below the 3,000 level. “It’s just a psychological support. We're just hanging by the thread with respect to the 3,000 technical support level. I'm not worried considering the low value turnout," he added. Tomorrow, he said, the index could reach 2980 to 3020. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial average was flat, gained 0.4 percent or 40 points. The S&P 500 index was also steady, adding 0.5 percent or 5 points, while the NASDAQ composite edged up by 0.6 percent or 12 points. Trading was also thin on the local front, with less than a billion stocks worth P2.16 billion changing hands. Losers beat gainers 68 to 41, while 53 stocks were unchanged. Mining and oil stocks lost 2.45 percent or 246.97 points to at 9,820.12, while industrial firms went down by 1.44 percent or 66.72 points to 4,550.77. Service stocks also dropped by 0.52 percent or 7.84 points to 1,490.98, while holding firms slid by 0.16 percent or 2.72 points to 1,707.23. Financial stocks likewise lost 0.16 percent or 0.98 point to 628.14. Property companies bucked the trend, gaining 0.18 percent or 1.83 points to 1,024.08. Manchester International Holdings Unlimited Corp.’s A shares were the day’s biggest gainer, adding half to P1.50 apiece. On the other hand, the Philippine Racing Club, Inc. lost 15 percent to P2.04. Market leader Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., the day’s most traded stock, lost P20 to P2,565. — NC/NPA, GMANews.TV