Philippine stocks slip anew over unresolved eurozone, US issues

MANILA, Philippines—Lackluster trading sent share prices down again on Tuesday, as risk-averse investors stayed on the sidelines due to the unresolved crises in Europe and the United States.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) slipped 0.23 percent, or 9.72 points, to close at 4,289.75 as the broader all-share index lost 0.1 percent, or 3.17 points, to end at 3,008.07.

Decliners outnumbered advancers, 86 to 70, while 42 stocks were unchanged.

The main index’s losers were Belle Corp. (2.15 percent), International Container Terminal Services Inc. (2.1 percent), Robinsons Land (1.16 percent), Philippine Long Distance and Telephone Co. (1.01 percent) and Ayala Land (0.97 percent).

“Europe’s debt woes are starting to be addressed as interim governments are put up in Greece and Italy. However, borrowing costs in the region continue to balloon as financial conditions in the Union remain risky,” brokerage firm AB Capital Online said in its daily comment.

The firm said that despite an improvement in US home sales figures, markets were more worried about the failure by the congressional super-committee to reach an agreement on how to reduce the deficit.

“Without solid agreement, the US will be forced to yield to a $1.2-trillion automatic spending cuts,” the firm said.