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PHILIPPINE stocks fell from a seven-week high on concern
recent gains were excessive given the outlook for
earnings and interest rates. Ayala Land Inc. and
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) dropped.
“People
are looking for something substantial to sustain the
recent gains in stocks,” said Jonathan Ravelas, a market
strategist at Banco de Oro in Manila. “Earnings are just
coming out while it seems interest rates are near
bottom.”
SM
Development Corp. jumped, headed for a record, after the
Philippine homebuilder said first-quarter profit grew
eightfold, boosted by stock gains and higher property
sales.
The
Philippine Stock Exchange index fell 22.89, or 0.7
percent, to 3295.28 at the close, after rising Tuesday
to its highest since February 27. The measure climbed
3.1 percent in the previous two days.
Ayala Land,
the nation’s largest developer, lost 25 centavos, or 1.4
percent, to P17.75, snapping a two-day, 4.3-percent
gain. PLDT, the nation’s biggest company by market
value, fell P15, or 0.6 percent, to P2500, after jumping
4.8 percent in the previous two days.
“It’s
normal to take your money off the table when you have
already made profit,” said Astro del Castillo, managing
director of First Grade Holding Inc., a financial
management and advisory company in Manila. “The market
is opening a window for those who missed the climb.”
Megaworld, Filinvest
MEGAWORLD Corp., one of the nation’s two biggest
developers of residential and office towers, fell 15
centavos, or 4.1 percent, to P3.55, trimming this
month’s gain to 6 percent. Filinvest Land Inc., a
builder of affordable homes, declined 4 centavos, or 2.1
percent, to P1.90, ending a three-day, 6.6-percent
advance.
Bank of
the Philippine Islands, the nation’s largest lender by
market value, lost P1, or 1.5 percent, to P67, ending a
two-day, 2.3-percent climb.
Wednesday’s decline is the third time the main stock
index has fallen from 3,300 since February 23, when it
reached a 10-year high. The measure is up 11 percent
this year, Asia’s sixth-best performer after China,
Vietnam, Malaysia, Pakistan and Singapore.
“Stocks
are having difficulty staying above 3,300 and that
indicates some share prices are already heavy,” Banco de
Oro’s Ravelas said. “Faced with a bigger risk that
interest rates will rise rather than fall, a trading
approach is prudent: make your money and get out or
shift this into stocks that haven’t moved as much.”
The
yield of the Philippine 91-day Treasury bill, which
banks use to price loans, rose earlier this week to
2.952 percent, the third increase this year.
SM
Development, which is owned by the nation’s richest
tycoon, Henry Sy, surged 30 centavos, or 6.9 percent, to
P4.65, after climbing as much as 13- percent earlier.
The stock has gained 76 percent this year.
Manila-based SM Development said Tuesday after trading
closed that net income increased to P661 million in the
three months ended March 31 from P81 million a year
earlier.
Shares
traded were worth P5.58 billion. |
