MANILA, Philippines?Local stocks slipped further on Friday on thin trading as a string of disappointing US economic data continued to spook global markets.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange composite index lost another 24.28 points or 0.73 percent to 3,290.98, sympathizing with the anemic trading in Wall Street overnight.

Value turnover was meek at P2.64 billion, with 86 decliners overwhelming 20 advancers. About 66 stocks were unchanged.

The index decline, however, was tempered by some selective bargain-hunting, particularly on telecom giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and SM Investments Corp.

On the other hand, the following stocks lost ground: Aboitiz Power Corp., Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., SM Prime Holdings Inc., DMCI Holdings Inc., International Container Terminal Services Inc. and First Gen Corp.

Stock prices of Ayala Land Inc., Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and Universal Robina Corp. were unchanged.

Aside from the lingering jitters over fiscal problems in the Euro-zone, the markets were hounded by unpalatable economic data from the US, including a larger-than-expected jobless count in June.

Pending US home sales for May also slid by 30 percent month-over-month to post the worst decline in nine years.

The latest US manufacturing index for June also turned out worse than anticipated and was likewise the poorest level seen for this year.

AB Capital Securities said the PSEi for the near term looked toppish after failing to breach recent highs for the fifth time. "The market is under extreme pressure to the negative developments abroad," it said.