Philippine stocks opened the week in the red on profit taking ahead of the President’s third State of the Nation Address.
Analysts said investors took profits after last week’s rally that saw the index closing just slightly below the 6,800 level.The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 79.64 points, or 1.17 percent, to close at 6,712.05, while the wider all-shares index declined by 27.85 points, or 0.77 percent, to settle at 3,599.98.
Four sectoral indices ended in the red, led by service which declined by 2.61 percent and industrial by 2 percent. Holding firms also went down by 1.1 percent and financials by 0.49 percent.“Investors will take cues from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s third SONA later today where he is expected to share key updates on the economy as well as the administration’s priority legislations and projects,” said First Metro Securities Research.
First Metro said market participants also weighed in on US President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the election race as he nominated Vice President Kamala Harris for the upcoming elections.