The stock market declined Friday on profit-taking after the benchmark index jumped to a record high Thursday, ignoring the gains in the regional market and Wall Street.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index sank 139.89 points, or 1.6 percent, to 8,376.13 on a value turnover of P9.8 billion. Losers beat gainers, 108 to 77, with 58 issues unchanged. The index jumped 150 points, or 1.8 percent, the other day to 8,516.02, beating the previous record finish of 8,497.74 on Oct. 17.
JG Summit Holdings Inc. of industrialist John Gokongwei fell 3.8 percent to P74, while PLDT Inc., the biggest telecommunications company, dropped 3.5 percent to P1,660.
Bank of the Philippine Islands, the third-biggest lender, slumped 4.2 percent to P95.60, while parent Ayala Corp. retreated 2.7 percent to P1,061.
MacroAsia Corp., a leading provider of aviation-related support services in the Philippines and controlled by airline and tobacco tycoon Lucio Tan, bucked the market correction, surging 7.3 percent to P20.90.
The rest of Asian shares rose Friday, as investors tracked Wall Street gains after a new Federal Reserve chair was nominated and Apple suppliers benefited from the company’s strong earnings report.
The Dow finished at a fresh record after US President Donald Trump chose Jerome Powell to lead the Fed, viewed as a non-controversial choice unlikely to radically change the gradual tightening monetary policies that stock markets like.
But optimism over a long-awaited tax cut plan unveiled by Congressional Republicans –intended to slash corporate rates and speed economic growth—was tempered by internal dissent and Democrat opposition.
Hong Kong shares rose 0.3 percent. Retail figures for the city were due out Friday, with a jump in mainland Chinese visitors expected to give a healthy reading, Bloomberg reported.
Taiwan rose 0.1 percent, while South Korea gained 0.3 percent to a new record high.
But Shanghai was down 0.3 percent, as Beijing moved to tighten regulations on foreign acquisitions.
Investors Friday also awaited the release of a key US jobs report giving non-farm payroll figures. A sharp rebound in employment levels was expected by the market, after September’s numbers were hit by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
Meanwhile, Apple suppliers in Asia rose as the company said profit had climbed 19 percent to $10.7 billion, and predicted bumper sales for its 10th anniversary iPhone X.
South Korea’s LG Display and Taiwan’s Largan Precision rose, as did Hong Kong-listed Cowell E Holdings and Sunny Optical Technology.
Apple’s latest smartphone was launched in more than 50 countries and territories Friday including in many Asian markets, with lengthy overnight queues at stores as chief executive Tim Cook described “very strong” orders.
Meanwhile, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba said soaring sales fueled a 132 percent increase in net profit in what it called an “outstanding” quarter.
Alibaba raised revenue expectations as it continues to profit from the Chinese e-commerce boom that it helped to ignite. Hong Kong-listed Tencent, a fellow giant in the sector, saw shares rise in Hong Kong Friday.
Japanese markets were closed for a public holiday. With AFP