PH shares fall in New Year’s Eve trading

PHILIPPINE shares ended 2021 in the red, with the benchmark index losing 211.93 points or down 2.89 percent to 7,122.3.

Meanwhile, the broader all shares index went down 65.26 points or 1.68 percent to finish at 3,813.12.

Year to date, the PSEi has lost 75.2 points from its 7,197.50 finish on Jan. 4.

In his analysis, Ron Acoba, founder and managing director of Trading Edge, said he expects the Philippine Stock Exchange index to “continue to grind sideways” in the short run as it encounters a resistance at its 2021 high of 7,400.

The stock market also ended the year with the recent major corporate takeovers by UnionBank, Shakey’s Pizza, and Century Pacific.

On Friday, shares were mixed in the rest of Asia after a late slide pulled major indexes into the red on Wall Street, leaving the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average slightly below record highs.

Tokyo and many other regional markets were closed.

A survey released Friday showed Chinese factory activity edged higher in December as supply disruptions eased and export demand weakened.

2021 was a mixed year for Asian markets.

Some benchmarks, like the Hang Seng in Hong Kong which has suffered from troubles in China’s property sector and U.S.-Chinese friction, have languished.

Others, like Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 and the Shanghai Composite index, have gyrated but held relatively steady.

India’s Sensex, meanwhile, breached new record highs despite a severe wave of Covid-19 in the spring. (CSL with reports from AP)