MANILA, Philippines--LOCAL stocks plummeted further on Tuesday following the Wall Street bloodbath in turn caused by concerns on some fiscally troubled European nations.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange fell by 48.99 points to close at 2,797.61 points as investors sold down blue chips amid a weak global sentiment.

The main index was dragged down by the mining or oil, industrial and financial sectors which fell by 3.3 percent, 2.3 percent and 2.2 percent, respectively. All the counters were down, weighed down by the gloomy overnight sentiment in Wall Street as the Dow Jones Industrial Average faltered below the crucial 10,000 mark for the first time since November.

There were 95 decliners as against only 19 advancers and 40 unchanged stocks. Value turnover amounted to P3.3 billion.

The market's slump was led by local telecommunication giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., Ayala Corp., Globe Telecommunication Inc., Globe Telecom, Energy Development Corp., Ayala Land Inc. and First Gen Corp.