Philippine bourse closes flat on profit-taking

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The stock market closed flat today despite the positive developments overseas.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index added 0.009 percent or 0.68 of a point to 7,826.07, while the broader all-share index slipped by 0.06 percent or 2.87 points to 4,534.19.

Trading volume reached 1.62 billion shares worth P5.45 billion ($123.29 million) with 105 stocks declining, 81 advancing, and 38 were unchanged.

Three of the six counters bucked the trend.

Online brokerage 2TradeAsia.com said in its daily stock market comment that participants initially cheer the grant of four-month extension on Greece, before profit takers booked their gains.

Even the gain of the Dow Jones industrial average index failed to keep the momentum.

The local barometer went up to as high as 7,854.80, up by more than 25 points before profit takers trimmed down the gains.  

"Spot for good trading zones in second-tiers that trail large caps' lead," the online brokerage advises investors.

It pegged immediate support at 7,800, while the local index's resistance is seen to be between 7,850 and 7,860.

Stocks in the 30-company index closed mixed. Investors dumped SM Investments Corp., heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., and Ayala Corp.