PSE still in the red on weak investor sentiment

02/27/2009 | 01:43 PM

MANILA, Philippines - Overnight decline on Wall Street and a perceived weak investor sentiment forced Philippine stocks to end the week slightly in the red.

The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index slipped for the second consecutive day to hit 1,872.22 points after shedding 8.16 points during Friday’s trading. The all-shares index also slid, paring 5.58 points to 1,211.02.

Besides a bearish Wall Street, falling prices of Philippine equities were also brought about by “frail sentiment among local businessmen," an email message from 2Trade Asia’s Market Insights said.

“Local equities might end the week mixed, as investors balance international rating firms’ maintenance of ‘stable’ credit rating outlook on the Philippines vis-a-vis frail sentiment among local businessmen," the email message said.

Gainers won over losers by a close margin, 38 to 37, while prices of 42 stocks remained unchanged.

Save for stocks in the financial sector and those belonging to the mining and oil industries, all four remaining sub-indices declined, led by holding firms and industrial stocks which fell by 1.56 percent and 1.15 percent respectively. Property and services sectors also slid by 0.26 percent and 0.09 percent respectively.

Except for Mining and Oil, which retreated 4.3653 percent to 3,490.79, all the other five sub-indices rose, led by Financials' 1.838-percent improvement and Holding Firms' 1.3203-percent rise.

Traded volume reached 1.462 billion which was valued at P1.47 billion.

Shares of Manila Electric Co., the Philippines’ largest electricity distributor, rose P3.50 to P90 apiece, P2.00 short of its one-year high.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., the country’s leading telecommunications company, was unchanged at P2,165.00.

Energy Development Corp., subsumed under the Lopez-led First Philippine Holdings Corp., shed 0.25 to P2.50.

Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI), the Philippines’ third-largest lender, rose P0.50 to P34.50 while its parent company, Ayala Corp., fell P5.00 to P192.00. - GMANews.TV

*The equities market is going to continue to slide down in the next few years while the commodities market is going to enter a bullish season.