Stocks plummet as investors take profits

Philippine shares plunged yesterday even as some of its Asian counterparts recovered.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index nose- dived 143.09 points, or 1.77 percent, to finish at 7,899.98

Likewise, the broader All Shares gauge was down 64.17 or 1.32 percent to finish at 4,794.65.

All indexes, likewise, ended in the red with the holding firms and property among the biggest losers.

Total value turnover reached P6.093 billion. Not surprisingly, market breadth was negative, 134 to 76 while 43 issues were left unchanged.

Traders said the Philippines, as with other Southeast Asian stock markets are seeing a bout of profit taking.

Among specific issues, SM Investments Corp. dropped 4.86 percent after several sessions of gains while SM Prime Holdings Inc. was likewise down 1.3 percent.

Traders said Philippine shares are still consolidating as they continue to decline after having breached a key 9,000 level for the first time at the end of January.

Market investors are also waiting for leads from the corporates and signals from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on how to tame rising inflationary pressures, traders said.

Elsewhere, broader ex-Japan Asian shares rose as they reacted positively on Wall Street’s overnight gains, which in turn, reacted to US President Donald Trump’s more benign statements regarding US military action on Syria.