Profit taking pulls down shares
Oil extended its gains, topping $72 a barrel for the first time since 2019
Investors switched to profit taking on Monday to start the week as funds went back into the US market after the May nonfarm-payrolls report showed a less-than-expected gain.
The surprise growth effectively led many to bet that the US Federal Reserve will maintain its easy-money policies for longer.
In addition, oil extended its gains, topping $72 a barrel for the first time since 2019 as OPEC+ supply discipline and recovering demand countered concerns about patchy Covid-19 vaccination rollout around the globe, Regina Capital Development Corp. (RCDC) managing director Luis Limlingan said.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index settled at 6,763.92 down 32.42 points or 0.48 percent after moving between 6,758.09 and 6,801.36 involving 83,779 shares valued at P3.699 billion.
Green shift
Among the gainers yesterday was D&L Industries which rose 1.39 percent to P8.05 per share.
D&L, which is the country’s largest specialty foods ingredients, plastics and oleochemicals firm, has declared cash dividends amounting to P1.36 billion even as it sustained its growth trajectory despite the reimposition of tighter quarantine measures.
During the firm’s annual stockholders’ meeting on Monday, D&L declared a regular cash dividend of P0.141 per share in addition to a special cash dividend of P0.05 per share to shareholders of record as of 21 June.
The dividend translates to a yield of 2.4 percent based on the stock’s last closing price of P7.94. The P1.36 billion to be paid is equivalent to 68 percent of last year’s net income.
Including this year’s payment, the company has returned a total of P11.5 billion in cash to shareholders through dividends since its initial public offer in 2012. The company also paid a 100 percent stock dividend in September 2015.
Philippine Stock Exchange index settled at 6,763.92 down 32.42 points or 0.48 percent.
In an interview after the meeting, D&L president and CEO Alvin Lao affirmed the company’s impressive growth in the first quarter despite the reimposition of stricter quarantine measures.
Lao said D&L is banking on its growing food and specialty plastics exports for growth but noted that all the company’s business segments have maintained growth levels set in the previous quarter.