The stock market fell Monday on profit-taking to snap an eight-day rally that saw the Philippine Stock Exchange Index surging to new highs.
The PSEi lost 24.88 points, or 0.3 percent, to 8,745.12 on a value turnover of P7.1 billion. Losers overwhelmed gainers, 128 to 75, with 43 issues unchanged.
BDO Unibank Inc., the biggest lender in terms of assets, dropped 2.3 percent to P156.30, while Megaworld Corp., the largest lessor of office spaces, slipped 1.5 percent to P5.22.
PLDT Inc., the biggest telecommunications company, declined 2.3 percent to P1,412, while rival Globe Telecom Inc. slumped 4.7 percent to P1,720.
Most Asian markets, meanwhile, rose on Monday following yet more records on Wall Street but Hong Kong turned lower after nine days of gains.
Hong Kong was marginally down in the afternoon after a run of nine straight gains that have taken the Hang Seng Index to its highest level since late 2007.
Shanghai rose 0.5 percent, Sydney added 0.1 percent and Singapore was 0.2 percent higher, while Seoul put on 0.6 percent as officials from North and South Korea prepare to hold talks for the first time since 2015.
Taipei, Jakarta and Bangkok were also higher but Wellington dipped. Tokyo was closed for a public holiday.
Traders in New York pushed all three main indexes ever higher on Friday, unperturbed by a well-below-forecast jobs reading. Analysts said the figures indicated the employment market was tightening.
With the corporate earnings season about to begin, global equities continue to see in the new year on a positive note, with optimism boosted by a strong US economy. With AFP
Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at AxiTrader, said: “There is a growing feeling that US stocks have entered the final stage of this great bull market. That’s certainly a view that seems to be starting to gain traction.
“But even as traders and investors worry we are in the ‘frothy’ stage of the rally, there is still some reluctance to call a top. That makes sense given the strength of the US and global economy and the impetus from the tax cuts.”
However, he warned: “But sometime in the next few months, all the good news will be priced in.” With AFP