Phl stocks tumble on Wall St losses

MANILA, Philippines - Wall St.’s overnight decline dragged down investor sentiments, snapping the two-day climb of the local bellwether index.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index retreated 0.77 percent or 51.34 points to end at 6,583.77, while the broader all shares index lost 0.59 percent or 23.48 points to 3,973.89.

Local shares were negatively affected by the retreat in Wall St. on the back of weak corporate earnings and lower oil prices.

The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 0.35 percent or 54.33 points to 15,413.33 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index ended its four-day streak as it fell 0.5 percent or 8.29 points to 1,746.38.

Asian stocks also did not provide positive leads on the back of tightening liquidity in China. Japan’s Nikkei 225 managed to rise 0.42 percent or 60.36 points to 14,486.41 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index dropped 0.71 percent or 164.13 points to 22,835.82.

Locally, all counters, save for mining and oil that gained 0.18 percent or 23.30 points to 13,040.49, were in the red. The decliners were led by property firms that closed 1.64 percent or 42.93 points lower at 2,576.44.

Investor participation weakened further, with turnover value falling to P5.81 billion from P6.59 billion on Wednesday. Decliners outplayed advancers, 100 to 45, while 38 stocks did not change.

Most active stocks were in the negative territory like Ayala Corp. (-0.89 percent), Ayala Land (-1.64 percent) and Universal Robina Corp. (-1.48 percent). But top-traded and index heavyweight PLDT (+0.14 percent) and Alliance Global Group Inc. (+0.19 percent) managed to post gains.