PH share prices close lower

MANILA, Philippines–Trading on local stocks on Thursday were muted as investors lacked incentives to load up on equities ahead of a “ghost month.”

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index dipped by 3.03 points, or 0.04 percent, to close at 6,889.89. Across the region, stock markets were mostly up following a favorable manufacturing gauge from China.

The index was weighed down by the financial, industrial and services counters, while the holding firm, mining/oil and property counters managed to firm up.

Value turnover was thin at P6.7 billion. There were 79 advancers against 90 decliners, while 54 stocks were unchanged.

The day’s most actively traded stock was Metrobank, whose shares fell by

1.36 percent after it announced a plan to raise as much as P20 billion from the issuance of high-yielding deposits.

AGI (-1.11 percent) and URC (-2.66 percent) were likewise among the notable decliners. Shares of Megaworld, AP, AC and JFC also slipped.

On the other hand, the PSEi’s decline was tempered by the gains eked out by SMIC and ALI, which both advanced by over 1 percent. PLDT, BDO, Philex, DMCI, RLC, Semirara and FGEN also gained.

Outside of PSEi stocks, among those that gained in heavy volume were Security Bank (+1.68 percent) and Nickel Asia (+0.56 percent).–Doris C. Dumlao