Index eases on concerns over oil, subprime woes

Shares prices ended little changed yesterday as concerns over the US subprime crisis and rising oil prices offset buying in companies likely to report strong quarterly earnings.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index dropped 1.18 points, or  three percent, to 3,773.63. It rose four percent Monday.

“We can characterize today’s session as a tug-of-war between bargain hunters and profit-takers,” said Astro del Castillo, managing director of First Grade Holdings.

“It seems the market will continue to consolidate given a lack of strong market-moving news and worries overseas,” he said.

Just before the closing bell, PLDT announced a 13-percent increase in core profit for the third quarter, reflecting gains in the mobile phone business.

That brought core profit for the first nine months to P26.2 billion, prompting the company to upgrade its full-year guidance to P34.5 to P35 billion, up from P32 billion.

“The market is still consolidating,” said Jose Vistan of AB Capital Securities.

“Investors are in a wait-and-see mode, waiting for more indicators in order to build up the confidence that can sustain its run and break record highs.”

But most investors ignored positive news on the domestic front as the outlook for the US economy dimmed following Citigroup’s warning that it planned to book $8 to $11 billion in additional losses.

Before the market opened, the National Statistics Office announced that the country’s annual inflation rate in October stood at 2.7 percent, unchanged from September, with the strong peso offsetting higher food and fuel prices.

“The scenario could be different moving forward,” said Lawrence de Leon, an analyst at Accord Capital Equities. “As we enter the holiday season, we can expect consumer prices to creep up, especially with high oil prices.”

San Miguel Corp.’s A shares, limited to local investors, retreated P1.50 to P57. Its B shares, open to both local and foreign investors, lost P3 to P58. 

Top traded Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) gained 1.9 percent to P3,030 after it raised its profit guidance for 2007.

Conglomerate Ayala Corp. lost 2.3 percent to P630. SM Investments Corp. slipped 2.6 percent to P377.50.

Ayala Land Inc. surged 3.3 percent to P15.50 after falling in past sessions on worries the company would be sued for negligence over the deadly blast at its Manila shopping mall last month.

Decliners outnumbered gainers 83 to 32, while 51 stocks were unchanged. — AP, AFP