Stocks continue to decline

Stocks ended in the red for a six-straight session Friday as regional indices saw mixed results and after Wall Street sank overnight.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) closed lower by 0.05 percent, or 3.27 points, to 7,159.29 while the broader All-Shares index was also down 0.05 percent, or 1.96 points, to 4,245.89.

Subsectors again closed mixed. Gainers were led by mining and oil as well as services, which gained 0.65 percent and 0.38 percent, respectively. Property was also up 0.19 percent. On the other hand, holding firms and financials sank 0.27 percent and 0.26 percent, respectively. The industrial subindex was likewise down 0.02 percent.

Data from the PSE showed a total of 1.08 billion shares valued at P6.08 billion changed hands. There were 114 decliners against 61 advancers, while another 55 companies closed unchanged.

Philippine Long Distance

Telephone Co. was the session’s most actively traded stock as it gained 0.94 percent to P1,717 a share. It was followed by Universal Robina Corp., down 0.19 percent to P208.40; Ayala Land Inc., up 1.17 percent to P34.65; BDO Unibank Inc., up 0.5 percent to P100, and SM Prime Holdings Inc., down 1.09 percent to P22.65 a share.

Other actively traded companies were Alliance Global Group Inc., unchanged at P14.50; Puregold Price Club Inc., down 1.47 percent to P40.20; SM Investments Corp., down 0.21 percent to P944; Bank of the Philippine Islands, down 0.22 percent to P90.50, and JG Summit Holdings, unchanged at P81.50 a share.  Miguel R. Camus