Philippine share prices knocked down by EU concerns

Local share prices on Monday tumbled as global jitters over the defeat of incumbent leaders in France and Greece added to profit-taking pressures.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index gave up 68.02 points, or 1.28 percent, to finish at 5,229.53, pulling back for the second straight session after breaking record levels last week.

All counters ended in the red, but the most battered were the mining/oil and financial counters which fell by 3.05 percent and 2.22 percent, respectively.

East West Bank, which listed on the PSE last week, managed to buck the downturn. Its share price surged by 6.9 percent from its initial public offering price. Value turnover for the day amounted to P8.9 billion.

There were 36 advancers against 136 decliners, while 31 stocks were unchanged.

Apart from East West, ICTSI and URC were among the few that defied the downturn.

Risk aversion rose Monday as the defeat of incumbent leaders in France and Greece was expected to rock an already shaky accord that had kept the euro zone intact.

In Greece, the two main parties supportive of the European Union bailout and fiscal austerity measures failed to gain the majority in the Greek parliament.

In France, Socialist Francois Hollande defeated incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy, who was likewise a key mover of the bailout package for debt-strapped European states.—Doris C. Dumlao