PSEi down 1% on profit-taking

THE stock market fell back to the 8,400 level on Friday as investors decided to take profits ahead of next week’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) summit and amid concerns over the outlook for corporate tax cuts in the United States.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) lost 1.01 percent or 86.34 points to close at 8,433.48.

The wider All Shares dropped 0.96 percent or 47.96 points to finish at 4,931.86.

“Philippine and US stocks lost ground, pulling back from all- time highs as investors expressed concern over a report that tax legislation due to be unveiled by Senate Republicans would delay a corporate tax cut until 2019,” an analyst from Regina Capital Development Corp. said.

“Locally … many were selling ahead of the Asean Summit due to the long holidays and with some investors wanting to see the output of their meetings,” he added.

Concerns over the US President Donald Trump’s tax plan were reignited after reports said the Republican party was divided over its implementation, particularly with regard to a corporate tax cut that senators want delayed by a year.

The Nikkei and Hong Kong fell by 0.8 percent and 0.1 percent respectively, while Shanghai managed a 0.1-percent gain.

Sectoral results back in Manila were mixed, with financials the sole gainer with a 0.38-percent rise.

More than 1.1 billion issues valued at P7.5 billion were traded.

Losers led winners, 134 to 73, while 44 issues were unchanged.