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PHILIPPINE share prices closed lower Friday as the market
consolidated after hitting near 10-year highs earlier in the week,
dealers said.
The composite index was down 16.35 points at
2,996.39, off a low of 2,979.39. It touched an intraday high of
3,010.75.
The broader all-share index fell 5.39 points to
1,866.85.
Gainers outnumbered losers 62 to 48, while 50
were unchanged. There were 3.2 billion shares traded valued at P4
billion.
The peso traded at 48.86 to the US dollar.
“The market has been see-sawing which goes to
show that for now the resistance level will hold for the
meantime,” said Jose Vistan of AB Capital Securities.
“The strong run-up that broke the 3,000 level
earlier this week is still susceptible to corrections; it’s not
yet a solid rally,” he added.
Dealers said there was no major news that
spurred Friday’s selling and they attributed it mostly on
perceptions that the market is ripe for a correction after recent
substantial gains.
“Some of the heavyweights are considered
overbought with several blue chips outperforming the market last
year, so some investors are locking in gains while others are doing
rotational buying on second and third liners,” said James Lago of
Westlink Global Equities.
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. declined
P40 to P2,505. Globe Telecom slipped P20 to P1,260.
Ayala Corp. fell P5 to P560, while unit Ayala
Land was down 25 centavos to P15.75.
News that regulators approved an increase in
generating charges for power distributor Manila Electric, also known
as Meralco, failed to lift the stock.
Meralco A retreated 50 centavos to P58.50.
Meralco B also fell 50 centavos to P59.
San Miguel A fell 50 centavos to P64.50, while
San Miguel B were a peso down to P75.
--AFP
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