Philippine shares end flat as losses mitigated by good news

Philippine share prices ended flat during Friday’s trading, as good news mitigated losses from Wall Street’s sharp overnight decline.

The benchmark 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index shed 8.99 points, or 0.31 percent, to 2,820.03 while the all-shares index fell 8.53 points, or 0.4742 points to 1,790.20.

The local equities market traded sideways as positive developments – the International Monetary Fund’s bright forecast for the Philippines, among others – helped curb negative sentiments from the Dow Jones’ plunge, Nikka Maloles, an investment analyst at 2Trade Asia said.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) declined to its lowest in three months as manufacturing and employment reports pounded US stocks, an Associated Press report said.

Losses were also pared because of “bargain hunting" and China’s steadfast commitment to its Philippine investments, especially in the mining sector, she added.

For the past month, the market has been trading sideways and has lacked volatility, Maloles pointed out.

“This is a good sign," she said.

Of the six sub-indices, only holding firms stayed in positive territory, posting a 2.90 point rise to 1,593.44.

Leading the five subsectors in the red was property, which was 13.81 points, or 1.22 percent lower at 1,109.56 points. This was followed by mining and oil and services which fell 85.07 points, or 1.136 percent, to 7,403.27 and 7.43 points, or 0.515 percent, to 1,433.75 respectively.

Market breadth was negative as losers outpaced advancers 78 to 20 while 60 stocks were unchanged.

Volume reached 1.232 billion shares traded with a value of P1.9 billion.

Friday’s top traded stock was the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), which ended at P2445.00 apiece, five pesos lower than Thursday’s prices.

Next was Ayala Corp., which rose by P2.50, to P305.00.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC), which has investments in toll roads, hospitals, and a water utility, declined by five centavos to P3.25.

SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) was the day’s fourth-traded stock, rising P2.50 to P327.50.

Ayala Land Inc., the Philippines’ biggest developer, stayed unchanged at P12.00.