Stocks close lower

The Philippine Stock Exchange index on Friday slipped for a second straight session, losing 26.95 points, or 0.36 percent, to close at 7,526.70.

For the whole week, the PSEi shed 53.76 points, or 0.7 percent, from last Friday’s finish of 7,580.46.

Most counters ended in the red, leaving only the mining/oil counter unscathed.

There were 71 advancers against 81 decliners, while 53 stocks were unchanged.

The PSEi was led lower by URC, which fell by 3.26 percent. It was the most actively traded stock for the day.

ALI and SMIC also contributed to the decline, both closing over 1 percent lower.

On the other hand, GTCAP rose by 2.44 percent, while EDC gained 1.05 percent. Investors also picked up shares of Megaworld, JG Summit, Bloomberry, Ayala Corp., Jollibee, BPI, Globe and Metrobank.

Among the notable gainers outside of the PSEi were SECB (+0.19 percent) and Vista Land (+1.12 percent). Doris Dumlao-Abadilla