The local stock market declined as investors stepped on the brakes to pocket some gains from the surge in past days.

The main index dropped 49.82 points or 0.73 percent to close at 6,791.87 as the Property sector led the retreat although the Mining and Oil counter posted strong gains while the Industrial sector held its ground.

Volume rose to 3.7 billion shares worth P18.78 billion mainly due to special block sales as gainers beat losers 114 to 86 with 51 unchanged.

“Philippine shares finally succumbed to profit taking after successive days in the green as investors refocused on the US with the release of the Beige Book which showed that the economy grew moderately in April and May, as consumer spending and manufacturing activity picked up despite supply bottlenecks,” said Regina Capital Development Corporation Managing Director Luis Limlingan.

He added that, “Others were reviewing the latest study from Moody’s as to when the country would achieve herd immunity. The Philippines is expected to vaccinate 65 percent of its population by 2023, as per Moody's Analytics.”

Philstocks Financial Senior Analyst Japhet Tantiangco said “The local bourse pulled back as investors took profits out of its rally in the preceding day. The setback in the National Capital Region’s COVID-19 situation also weighed on sentiment.”

He noted that, “According to the OCTA Research Group, the average daily case counts in the NCR from May 26 to June 1, 2021 increased by 8 percent compared to the preceding week.”

AAA Equities Head of Research Chris Mangun said “The market took a pause and relieved some selling pressure. Today's pullback gave investors the opportunity to come in at lower prices.”

He added that, “The Bureau of Treasury reported that outstanding debt increased by another 2.0 percent for the month of April from the previous month. ...This raises some concern on the government's ever-growing balance.”