Share prices close lower

Most local stocks Thursday closed lower, dragging the main index below 6,600, as investors locked up gains following an overnight decline in US stocks.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 51.34 points, or 0.77 percent, to close at 6,583.77. Elsewhere in the region, trading was muted by an overnight weakness on Wall Street due to a disappointing stream of US corporate earnings.

But value turnover was thin at P5.82 billion. There were only 45 advancers against 100 decliners, while 38 stocks were unchanged.

The property counter was the day’s most battered subindex. Dealers said the run-up past the 6,600 mark led to profit-taking in the market.

The day’s biggest index laggard was Petron (-3.26 percent), followed by SM Prime, SMC and AP, which all fell by over 2 percent. DMCI, ALI, RLC, URC, Megaworld and Globe declined by over 1 percent.

On the other hand, the day’s biggest gainer was Philex (+2.3 percent), bouncing from Wednesday’s decline.