Stock market takes breather after S&P euphoria

Philippine shares closed lower on Monday on profit-taking after several days of gains, driven further at the end of last week by the sovereign credit rating upgrade obtained by the country from Standard and Poor’s.

“The PSEi [Philippine Stock Exchange index] eased off its 11-month high with profit-taking dominating the first hour of trade. Prices, however, stayed within last week’s bands,” said Justino Calaycay, analyst at Accord Capital Equities Corp.