Index eases 2 points as impeachment trial sidetracks investors

Share prices closed mixed in quiet trading yesterday as the start of President Estrada’s impeachment trial later in the day sidetracked investors.

The 30-company Phisix finished 2.62 points or 0.18 percent lower to quickly retrieve the previous day’s gains, settling at 1,390.67.

However, the broader All-Shares index ended on the plus side, improving by 24.62 points or 3.37 percent to 766.22 due to the huge gains in Sun Life and Manulife stocks.

The counters moved in opposite directions, with commercial-industrial and mining falling down while the oil, finance and property sectors edging higher.

There were, in fact, more advancers at 35 as against 26 decliners, leaving the prices of 30 issues steady.

But market sentiment was largely on the downside as most of the index stocks fell on profit taking, left unchanged or were hardly traded.

The two most-heavily traded issues were non-Phisix stocks Sun Life and Alliance Global combining for nearly 30 percent of the total P503.673 million value turnover. Both posted gains, with Sun Life surging P95 to P1,120 and AGI adding 25 centavos to P11.25.

Joining the active list were Manulife, another Canadian Insurer, along with Fairmont Holdings (formerly BW Resources), both also outside the Phisix. Manulife moved up P70 to P1,360 while Fairmont gained two centavos to P1.34 respectively.

Among the active Phisix stocks, on the other hand, were PLDT, San Miguel, Ionics Corp., SM Prime, Ayala Corp., Ayala Land and Metrobank, which were all unchanged except for PLDT as it lost P5 to P795.

Meanwhile, San Miguel B, Bank of Philippine Islands, La Tondeña and Filinvest Land were among the handful of index stocks which chipped in better prices.

On the trading front, the listing of Corro-Coat Inc., a leading maker of powder coatings for a variety of consumer and industrial products, will push through today.

The Quezon City-based Corro-Coat, majority controlled by the Lao family, will list 413 million of its shares of which a third or 138 million were through an initial public offering (IPO) priced at P1.28 each.

The company, sixth to list this year, will raise about P166 million in net proceeds from the IPO, to be used mainly for the relocation to a new factory site and modernization of facilities.