Philippine stocks fall on EU woes

AFP PHOTO / Jay DIRECTO

MANILA, Philippines—Local stocks closed lower for a second day as investors worried over the debt situation in the eurozone.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index shed 22.69 points, or 0.43 percent, to 5,192.10.

Most counters ended in the red led by the mining/oil sub-index, which slumped by 2.26 percent.

Only the property counter bucked the downturn, due to the 2.19 percent gain by Ayala Land Inc. which posted good first quarter results. ALI grew its first-quarter net profit by 31 percent to P2.13 billion year on year led by the residential business.

The index was led lower by AGI, PLDT, AC, Megaworld, URC, Metrobank, MPI, BDO and SM Prime.

Apart from ALI, the day’s index losses were tempered by the gains of DMCI, AP and BPI.

Meanwhile, other sharp losers were Bloomberry (-4.21 percent), Dizon (-12.76 percent), GT Capital (-1.79 percent), Philodrill (-7.84 percent) and Security Bank (-1 percent).

Across the region, sentiment was also dampened by reports about the slower-than-expected import growth in China, which in turn boosted concerns on the slowing Chinese economy.

Overnight, the closely watched Dow Jones Industrial Index slumped for the sixth day in a row.

Traders said it did not help that many analysts now perceive that Philippine stocks have become expensive compared with the rest of the region.

Value turnover amounted to P7.97 billion. Losers overwhelmed gainers, 134-31, while 36 stocks were unchanged.