Market barely moves in cautious trading

Stocks closed mixed yesterday despite a mild rally in early trading as investors appeared to have calmed down jitters over the falling peso and rising interest rates although at the back of their minds, the spate of bombings and a plane hijacking attempt further cast serious doubts on the peace and order situation and the government's seeming inability to contain these terrorist attacks.

The Phisix inched up a mere 0.64 point to end the day at 1427.26. Still, this was the third consecutive day the main index had moved up, fueled largely by bargain hunting on stocks that have technically weakened.

On a broader scale, however, the All-Shares index, which measures stocks outside the 30-issue Phisix basket, slid 3.36 points or half a percent lower to 614.96. There were 55 losers among the 125 issues traded; 30 managed to climb up while 40 were unchanged.

Still, three trading sectors (mining, property and oil) posted gains while the two other counters (commercial-industrial and financial services) rolled back. Trading volume was higher at 2.4 billion shares valued at P2.540 billion -- the first time in over two months that value turnover breached past the P2-billion mark.

In other markets, the benchmark Dow Jones fell, along with the tech-heavy Nasdaq index, sparking similar reactions in most Asian bourses, except Taiwan. Analysts said the market remained nervous over the prospects of another interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve along with a late sell-off that snapped the comeback in the battered technology sector.

Macroasia Corp., the Lucio Tan-controlled holding firm for ground and inflight services at the international airport, was the heaviest traded stock, accounting for over half of total trades. The inflight caterer and plane maintenance unit servicing mainly flag carrier Philippine Airlines shed off five centavos to P2.50, following an aborted hijacking by a lone passenger of a PAL domestic flight from Davao to Manila.

Filinvest Development Corp., the parent firm of index stock Filinvest Land Inc., said it realized net income of P1.3 billion in 1999, amidst the sluggish real estate sector. Chairman Andrew Gotianun said the company intends to make inroads in property development by maximizing existing assets with a prudent program that carefully matches market demand and supply. FLI, which closed 14 centavos lower at P1.32, is wrapping up works on its flagship Filinvest Corporate City project in Alabang.

State-owned oil refiner Petron Corp. lost eight centavos to P1.36 after one of its bulk plant in General Santos City was bombed around midnight last Thursday.