Philippine bourse closes lower on low foreign demand

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Philippine stock market ended lower today after the government reported that inflation picked up in February.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 0.37 percent or 28.79 points to 7,819.04, while the broader all-share index slipped by 0.21 percent or 9.71 points to 4,547.60.

Trading volume reached 7.01 billion shares worth P9.09 billion ($206.05 million) with 95 stocks advancing, 90 declining, and 46 were unchanged.

Two of the six counters bucked the trend. These are the services and the mining and oil sectors.

The Philippine Statistics Authority today reported that inflation grew to 2.5 percent last month following mixed price movements among the commodity groups.

Analysts however was quick to point that the central bank is unlikely to make any drastic move in the near term.

"With foreign demand seeming to have dried up in the previous session, investors may check for flat trading with a downward bias in the next couple of sessions," 2TradeAsia.com said separately.

The online brokerage said the market's immediate support is seen to be at 7,750, while resistance is at 7,900.

Stocks in the 30-company index closed mixed. Among those sold down were Ayala Corp., Manila Electric Co., and JG Summit Holdings, Inc.