Uncertainty leads to drop in PH shares

MANILA, Philippines—Local share prices fell to a two-week low, weighed down by market heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT).

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) fell 36.27 points, or 0.66 percent, on Thursday to close at 5,414.82 points, with all sub-indices ending the day in the red. The broader all-shares index fell 0.70 percent.

Decliners outnumbered advancers at 117 to 51, while 42 issues were unchanged.

“Investors remained uncertain on how developments in the United States and Europe will impact on domestic companies’ prospects and [valuations of] their respective counters,” brokerage firm Accord Capital said in a note.

“Admittedly, the US fiscal cliff was not anticipated, and we may have been too optimistic that a solution to the European crisis will have been found before the close of 2012,” the firm said.

“The domestic economy, on the other hand, has not been derailed by the global weakness,” Accord Capital explained.

The brokerage firm said it also saw encouraging signs in some key metrics, particularly those of the gross domestic product, inflation, gross international reserves and foreign direct investments.

Total volume reached 3.16 billion shares, changing hands at P6.46 billion. The services sector fell 1.34 percent after PLDT lost 1.88 percent to close at 2,502 points.

The phone firm was the second-most traded share of the day. The most traded share, that of Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., also lost 1.04 percent.—Paolo G. Montecillo

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