Index eases on lack of market-moving news

MANILA, Philippines – Share prices tumbled yesterday due largely to the absence of market-moving news, analysts said.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) remained on a downtrend and analysts said it needs to break past the 7,140 to have a shot at reversing.

The PSEi finished at 6,983.61, down 18.81 points or 0.27 percent but the broader All Shares index managed to stay in positive territory at 3,996.16, up 1.50 points or 0.04 percent.

Unicapital said yesterday’s session followed a retreat of the S&P 500 Index which slipped in trading before the Christmas holiday following a three-day rally, as energy shares pared their strongest weekly gains since October.

The S&P 500 fell 0.2 percent to 2,060, clipping its weekly advance to 2.8 percent  while the Dow Jones dropped 50 pts, or 0.3 percent, to 17,552.

This as the US unemployment benefits decreased to a four-week low and continue to hover near the lowest since the 1970s, indicating a still-solid labor market approaching the New Year.

Elsewhere in the region, Asian stocks also dipped on Monday amid a lack of immediate directional cues in light year-end trade.

For instance, Shanghai shares fell 1.3 percent, dragged by banking shares following weak Chinese industrial output data while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dropped one  percent.

Value turnover stood at P3.08 billion.