MANILA, Philippines - Philippine share prices are trading lower hours before President Aquino delivers his fifth State of the Nation Address on Monday afternoon.
As of 11:16 a.m., the bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index slipped 21.07 points or 0.31 percent to 6,868.48.
The broader all shares were down 15.84 points or 0.38 percent to 4,114.03.
Five of the six sub-indices were in the red, with Mining and Oil leading the losers with a slide of 198.54 points or 1.18 percent.
Bucking the decline was the Industrial index, gaining 12.57 points or 0.12 percent to 10, 523.76.
Analyst Justino Calaycay Jr. of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said historical trends show that the SONA "has not been as strong an influence on share prices as many may be wont to believe."
"The reactions on the actual SONA day ranged from gains of 2.1 percent (2009, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) to losses of 1.37 percent (2012, Benigno C. Aquino); on the other hand, in the balance of the SONA week, it ranged between gains of 3.94 percent (2006, GMA) and losses of 5.86 percent (2007, GMA)," Calaycay said.
"Over Aquino's term, markets were practically flat on the day of the SONA and gained between 0.5 percent and 2.06 percent the rest of the week," he added.