Philippine stocks buck regional uptrend

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine stocks retreated yesterday, bucking the upward trend registered by most markets in the region.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) tumbled 9.71 points, or 0.13 percent, to settle at 7,201.02.

Similarly, the broader All-Shares index finished at 4,149.08, down 7.01 points or 0.16 percent.

Most of the other indexes went down yesterday, led by the mining and oil index which declined 102.49 points and the services index, which shed 38.76 points.

Value turnover was thin at P5.418 billion. Decliners outnumbered advancers, 99 versus 79 while 34 stocks were left unchanged.

Across Asia, markets were up sharply following gains on Wall St.

The Shenzhen Composite Index, the smaller of the mainland’s two stock markets, gained 5.1 percent. Similarly, the broader Shanghai Composite Index rose 4.3 percent, creating a rippling effect as well in Hong Kong.

The Hang Seng index rose 2.3 percent, while Hong Kong’s exchange operator, the Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. rose 4.8 percent.

Likewise, Hong Kong-listed mainland brokerages increased sharply, with gainers led by led by Shenwan Hongyuan Ltd., which rose 14 percent.