RP stocks retreat on profit-taking

 The Philippine Stock Exchange index retreated from all-time highs on Friday as investors pocketed hefty gains from the market's recent run.

The PSEi shed 26.04 points or 0.6501 percent to finish at 3,979.35.

More than 3.809 billion shares valued at P6.629 billion changed hands.

There were 82 decliners, which were edged out by 77 advancers, while 32 stocks were unchanged.

Investors took profit from stocks that “were previously quite strong," said Martin Santos, an analyst at First Metro Securities Brokerage Corp.

Particularly, these were property stocks such as Ayala Land Inc., Robinsons Land Corp., and Filinvest Land Inc., he added, noting that the property index was down by 2.2 percent.

Profit-taking began escalating during the middle of the trading session, traders said, pointing out that financial, industrial, and services firms also carried the benchmark index down.

But despite the anticipated correction, other investors still saw some selective buying opportunities especially in the holding firms and mining/oil sectors.

Despite the small correction, the outlook is still bullish.

The stock market is widely expected by market analysts to continue toward 4,700 to as high as 5,300 through next year.

The local market has freed itself from the bearish cycle since last week when the PSEi surpassed the record highs last seen in 2007, said a trader of Equitiworld Securities Inc.

Likewise, First Metro Investment Corp. vice president for investment Eduardo Banaag said foreign funds — such as Fidelity Fund, China Investment Corp., and Government of Singapore Investment Corp. — have been taking greater interest on the Philippine market. - JE/OMG, GMANews.TV

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