Most PH stock prices fall in profit taking

MANILA, Philippines – Most local stock prices fell on Thursday with the exception of selected issues like storied mining firms as investors pocketed gains from a three-day run-up especially after an overnight bloodbath on Wall Street.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index gave up 23.03 points or 0.53 percent to finish at 4,312.01.

The mining/oil counter bucked the downtrend as its counter rose by 3.5 percent led by Philex, Manila Mining and Lepanto after a joint venture deal on the Kalayaan mine between Manila Mining (a unit of Lepanto) and Philex was announced. Philex inked a deal to buy an initial 5 percent stake in the mine and shoulder all pre-operating expenses which shall afterwards allow it to hike its stake to 60 percent.

Philex, Lepanto “A” (open only for local investors) and Manila Mining “A” and “B” (open to both local and foreign investors) respectively gained by 6.5 percent, 7.32 percent and 6.38 percent.

The most actively traded stock was San Miguel Corp., whose share price fell by 3.14 percent to P110.90 on news that global credit watcher Standard & Poor’s had changed its credit outlook on the conglomerate to “negative” from “stable” while affirming its BB- long-term foreign currency corporate credit rating. S&P has also withdrawn any further rating coverage on SMC upon the latter’s request.

“We are revising the outlook based on our opinion that San Miguel’s already aggressive financial risk profile will continue to deteriorate if its financial leverage does not improve over the next six to 12 months,” S&P credit analyst Allan Redimerio said in a statement issued Wednesday night. “San Miguel continues to invest heavily in its diversification plans, thereby depleting its substantial cash reserves.”

With the consolidation of its business interests in unrated units Petron Corp. and SMC Global Power Holdings Corp. and increased borrowings to fund its diversification, S&P said its financial metrics projections pointed “to a more leveraged San Miguel with greater operating cash flow volatility in its newer business segments.”

Thursday’s stock market turnover amounted to P5.49 billion.

There were 63 advancers which were edged out by 73 decliners while 39 stocks were unchanged.

The index was weighed down most by PLDT, DMCI Holdings, Metrobank, AGI, BPI and BDO which all fell on profit-taking.

Apart from mining stocks, First Gen, Ayala Land, Lopez Holdings, Atlas, Aboitiz Power, EDC, Cebu Air and Leisure & Resorts bucked the downturn.

Ayala Land had announced growth in its first quarter net profit by 36 pervent to P1.6 billion year-on-year on double-digit growth in revenues from property development, commercial leasing, hotels and resorts and other services.

On the other hand, it was announced on Thursday that ABS-CBN Corp. and Lopez Holdings had completed the sale of P2.162 billion Philippine Depositary Receipts (PDRs) over shares in Sky Cable Corp. (SkyCable) to a subsidiary of STT Communications Ltd. (STTC), Sampaquita Communications Pte Ltd (Sampaquita).

Some investors also took their cue from an overnight pullback on Wall Street. The main-share Dow Jones Industrial Index shed 130.33 points or 1.02 percent to 12,630.03 on jitters over rising interest rates, the lingering fiscal woes of Greece and the sharp rise in inflation in China. Wall Street was also unnerved by news that the Bank of England was expecting consumer prices to breach its targeted 2 percent rate and remain there through 2012.