December 27, 2020 | 11:30 pm Font Size AAA PHILIPPINE shares are expected to trade sideways this trading week as investors book profits while waiting for updates on the new strain of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which hit the United Kingdom (UK) earlier this week. The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) closed Wednesday’s session at 7,204.38, higher by 1.99 points or 0.027% than the previous trading day. Week on week, the benchmark index inched down 0.84% or 68 points. The market’s average value turnover slid 14.1% week on week to P8.5 billion, while average net foreign selling decreased 31.9% week on week to P510 million. Darren Blaine T. Pangan, head of online trading at Timson Securities, Inc., said that updates on the new COVID-19 strain and the government’s decision to extend the ban on travel from the UK for two more weeks might lead to more profit taking during the last two trading days of the year.