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THE peso resumed its climb, while the stock market
closed lower on worries over the United States economy and record
high oil prices, dealers said.
Most sectors ended in negative
territory, although small miners and companies engaged in
alternative energy production were in demand.
The composite index fell 55.18
points to 3,760.04, off its session low of 3,757.74.
The broader all-share index fell
29.64 points to 2,364.69.
There were 90 decliners and 29
gainers, while 53 stocks were steady.
Volume amounted to 4.2 billion
shares worth P4.9 billion.
“Corporate earnings in the US
indicate that there’s really something wrong with the economy,”
said Nestor Aguila of DA Market Securities.
US stocks retreated for a second
straight session Tuesday after Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke
said the slumping housing market remains a “significant drag” on
the economy.
US corporate earnings were also
disappointing, reflecting trouble in the credit markets.
The sustained rise in oil prices
was another negative for the market as crude oil prices climbed to a
record $88.20 a barrel in US trading Tuesday before easing slightly
in Asian trading.
“Prospects of further
[interest] rate cuts in the future are being jeopardized by the
rising cost of crude oil,” said Jose Vistan of AB Capital
Securities.
“The Bernanke warning revived
nervousness in the market but the unrelenting surge of oil prices is
a major factor, especially since the Philippines is an oil-dependent
country,” he said.
Manila’s key index has
retreated by nearly 137 points, or 3.5 percent since October 8, when
it reached a trading high of 3,896.74.
“While there’s been a lot of
profit-taking going on in our market, I think that’s pretty
normal. The market’s uptrend is still intact,” said Aguila.
Philippine Long Distance
Telephone Co. (PLDT), the country’s biggest company by market
value, was down P10 at P3,040.
Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co.
fell P2.50 to P64.50, extending Tuesday’s losses which snapped a
three-day winning streak.
Geothermal power producer
Philippine National Oil Co.- Energy Development Corp. (PNOC-EDC)
rose 20 centavos to P7.50 while Semirara Mining, the country’s
largest producer of coal, jumped P2.50 to P41.50.
Oil refiner Petron was down 10
centavos at P6.40.
San Miguel A fell one peso to
P60.00. The food and beverage group’s B-shares slipped 50 centavos
to P61.50.
The Philippine Stock Exchange
announced on Wednesday that it would change its indices and the PSEi
by next month as a result of the latest free float-based review of
their components.
In a statement, the local bourse
said Security Bank Corp. and Manila Mining Corp. were dropped from
the 30-company index—the barometer of local stock price
movements—following the new PSE review.
Based on the latest review
approved by the PSE board, the free float portion should represent
at least 10 percent of the outstanding shares of the listed stock.
Free float is the issued and
outstanding shares of a listed company not held by strategic
partners and owner and these shares are freely tradable among
nonstrategic investors in the public.
Equitable-PCI Bank Inc. has been
removed from the index earlier after it merged with Banco de Oro,
another listed bank. PNOC-EDC., Filinvest Land Inc. and Robinsons
Land Corp. were added to the index.
Besides the PSEi, the local
bourse would also change the composition of the six sector indices
on November 16 due to the expansion of the member firms.
At the Philippine Dealing System,
the peso appreciated to 44.160 against the dollar from 44.340 last
Tuesday. Total volume turnover reached $629 million.
The appreciation of the peso was
due to large remittance inflows but high corporate demand for
dollars, rising oil prices, and the onset of import season minimized
the local currency’s gains.
-- AFP, Likha C. Cuevas-Miel and Maricel E. Burgonio
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