PSEi succumbs to selling pressure in SM Prime, Ayala Corp.

Selling pressure in SM Prime Holding Corp. and Ayala Corp. dragged the market lower on Wednesday.

The bellwether PSEi dropped 148.72 points or 1.86 percent to 7,864.70 at the closing bell. The broader All Shares shed 73.49 points or 1.53 percent to 4,715.13.

“Heavyweights SMPH (-6.9 percent) and AC (-5.3 percent) led the decline,” P2P Trade Online sales associate Gabriel Jose Perez said.

“SMPH encountered a heavy net foreign selling figure of P508 million on news that its planned reclamation could be delayed due to the upcoming Manila Bay rehab project. AC weakened today on news of Mitsubishi’s sale of 13 million shares at P900 per share—a 7.3 percent discount to yesterday’s close. AC encountered a net foreign selling print of P780 million for the day,” Perez said.

Japanese firm Mitsubishi Corp. sold some 13 million shares of Ayala Corp. in a private placement at P900 per share, a discount of 7.83 percent from P970.50 when the market closed Tuesday.

Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año said Tuesday that reclamation projects in the Manila Bay should be shelved for good for the Manila Bay rehabilitation to succeed. 

“Investors probably assumed that SMPH would follow the private placement done in AC,” Timson Securities equities trader Jervin de Celis said.

AC lost P51.50 or 5.31 percent to P919.00 from P970.50 on Tuesday. AC accounts for 6.60 percent of the PSEi.

SMPH declined by P2.75 or 6.92 percent to P37.00 from previous close of P39.75. It accounts for 8.82 percent of the PSEi.

Foreign funds bought P15.656 billion of shares and sold P16.850 billion for a net selling position of P1.193 billion.

“Total net foreign selling amounted to P1.2 billion, a clear reversal from the near P1 billion of inflows we’ve been seeing the past few days,” Perez noted.

More than 1.131 billion shares valued at P20.148 billion, changed hands. Decliners led advancer, 127 to 64, and 50 issues were unchanged. —VDS, GMA News