Stocks tumble on profit-taking

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Philippine stock market fell anew today even after touching an intra-day high of 7,400.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 0.83 percent or 61.08 points to 7,294.21, while the broader all-share index retreated by 0.59 percent or 25.72 points to 4,314.90.

Trading volume reached 4.29 billion shares worth P9.47 billion ($211.64 million) with 113 stocks advancing, 61 declining, and 53 were unchanged.

All six counters were down.

Analyst Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said while investors are starting to talk about the prospects of a new record for the local index, this however, was not enough to keep the index rallying.

After rallying to a new record of 7,413.62 on Thursday, profit takers re-entered the equities and sold down their positions.

2TradeAsia.com attributed Thursday's rally to the optimistic growth outlook on the Philippines from International Monetary Fund and Standard & Poor's, among other positive economic projections.

On the other hand, casting shadow on the local equities is the uncertainty in the Middle East, as some extremist groups respond to allied airstrikes.

"We should not lose sight of the rising risks ranging from the geopolitical conflicts, to the unfolding domestic political posturing for the 2016 elections, inflation, and interest rates," Calaycay said.

Stocks in the 30-company index were mostly down. These include Ayala Land, Inc., heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., and Globe Telecom, Inc.