Meralco shares slip on profit taking after PSEi rebalancing

MANILA ELECTRIC CO. (Meralco) shares fell last week as investors took profits following gains from the recent Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rebalancing, with analysts citing technical factors as the main driver.

- Heather Caitlin P. Mafiago

Data from the Philippine Stock Exchange showed Meralco was the eighth most traded stock of the week, with 1.33 million shares worth P717.51 million changing hands by Friday.

The stock closed at P547 last Friday, down 2.3% from a week earlier, defying the 0.7% rise in the industrial sector week on week. However, it mirrored the 0.5% decline in the benchmark PSEi.

Franco Fernandez, equity research analyst at Dragonfi Securities, said Meralco’s decline was primarily driven by technical factors following a sharp price increase the previous Friday due to the PSEi rebalancing.

Effective Aug. 18, the PSE announced changes to its indices, which included the removal of Bloomberry Resorts Corp. from the PSEi and the addition of DigiPlus Interactive Corp.

In the industrial index, Concepcion Industrial Corp., Citicore Renewable Energy Corp., and Vitarich Corp. were added, while Basic Energy Corp., EEI Corp., and Max’s Group, Inc. were removed.