Stocks down on regional decline, poll jitters

Stocks sank for a seventh straight session Monday, dragged lower by weakness in regional bourses and election-related jitters.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell 1.47 percent, or 105.41 points, to 7,053.88, while the broader All-shares index was down 1.23 percent, or 52.20 points, to 4,193.69.

Trading volume was relatively low, with 1.07 billion shares valued at P5.1 billion changing hands Monday. Losers far outnumbered gainers, 157 to 47, while 35 companies closed unchanged.

It was a similar picture for the sectoral indices. Only mining and oil ended positive with a gain of 1.27 percent. Decliners were led by industrial, down 1.71 percent, followed by holding firms, down 1.65 percent, and services, down 1.39 percent.

Universal Robina Corp. led the list of most actively traded companies as it fell 3.26 percent to P201.60 a share.

This was followed by Ayala Land Inc., down 2.45 percent to P33.80; Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., down 1.57 percent to P1,690; SM Investments Corp., down 1.48 percent to P930, and Globe Telecom, down 2.46  percent to P2,140 a share.

Other actively traded companies were SM Prime Holdings Inc., up 0.44 percent to P22.75; Megaworld Corp., down 3.45 percent to P3.64; Metro Pacific Investments Corp., down 2.24 percent to P5.67; JG Summit Holdings, down 2.21 percent to P79.70, and Metropolitan Bank and Trust, down 3.38 percent to P78.50.

Foreign buying for the day amounted to P1.9 billion while foreign selling reached P1.92 billion. Miguel R. Camus