PSEi slips further on profit taking, Trump speech

STOCKS traded in the red for the second straight session, as investors continued to secure gains from previous rallies and ahead of the inauguration of billionaire Donald J. Trump as the 45th President of the United States.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index ( PSEi) dropped another 57.27 points or 0.78% to reach 7,264.55 at the closing bell. The broader all-shares index likewise slipped 28.29 points or 0.64% to 4,379.98.

“The market’s two- day drop is a welcome relief following a six-session run that caught many pleasantly surprised,” Justino B. Calaycay, Jr., head of marketing and research at A&A Securities, Inc., said in a text message.

“As we have been pointing out, the narratives remain the same — those that we carried over from 2016 plus those that are expected to unfold in the days ahead. We believe that at this point, investors simply opted to book gains ahead of Trump’s inauguration,” Mr. Calaycay said.

All sectors ended in negative territory. The services and property counters registered the biggest losses of 30.08 points or 2.11% to 1,394.63 and 47.72 points or 1.43% to 3,276.56, respectively.

Financials, meanwhile, declined by 5.91 points or 0.33% to 1,754.11; holding firms by 22.14 points or 0.29% to 7,375.47; mining and oil by 29.03 points or 0.23% to 12,585.85; and industrials by 11.43 points or 0.10% to 11,200.82.

Decliners outnumbered advancers, 113 to 69, while 61 stocks were unchanged.

Value turnover further dropped to P5.95 billion, after 2.68 billion issues exchanged hands, from the P7.15 billion recorded on Wednesday.

Foreign investors continued to buy more shares, although their net purchases decreased to P176.02 million from P455.83 million on Wednesday.

“The market took on a selling position after presidentelect Trump gave his first press conference of the year,” Luis A. Limlingan, head of business development at Regina Capital Development Corp., noted in a mobile phone message.

“Since the unexpected victory of Donald Trump in the US presidential election, financial markets have had to reassess their expectations on a wide range of policy issues,” Mr. Limlingan noted.

In this light, the market closely watched out for possible clues on what policies the new US government will adopt during the president-elect’s first press conference late Wednesday.

However, Mr. Trump did not focus on his policy agenda during the briefing.

“His press conference actually didn’t reveal much as it dealt mostly with Russia’s alleged hacks. The confirmation hearings of secretary of state nominee [Rex W.] Tillerson had more meat in terms of policy direction,” Mr. Calaycay noted.

Mr. Trump has espoused protectionist policies during and after the campaign for the White House. For instance, he proposed to impose heavier taxes on US companies outsourcing jobs and limit employment opportunities for migrants. •