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LOCAL share prices closed flat as investors turned cautious while
waiting for fresh leads, still unconvinced that the worst is over
for the market, dealers said.
The composite index fell 1.92 points to 2,981.12
having traded between 2,973.70 and 2,990.76.
But the all-share index was 0.26 point higher at
1,830.88.
There were 46 advancers and 45 decliners, while
46 were steady.
Turnover reached P2.9 billion, down from last
Friday’s P3.0 billion.
The peso traded at 41.7 to the dollar.
“It’s a battle between the bulls and the
bears. Investors are relieved to see a temporary pause in volatility
on Wall Street but they are scared of runaway inflation,” said
Jonathan Ravelas, chief strategist at Banco de Oro Unibank.
US stocks closed narrowly mixed on Monday, with
many investors moving to the sidelines as they waited for quarterly
corporate results.
Adding to worries about rising food costs at
home, oil jumped above $109 a barrel on Monday as investors bet that
the Federal Reserve will continue to lower interest rates,
potentially weakening the dollar.
“A persistent high oil price regime is
expected to push inflation higher and could even temper economic
growth moving forward,” said Francisco Liboro, president of PCCI
Securities.
Government data released last Friday showed
Philippine annual inflation rising to a 21-month high of 6.4 percent
in March, much faster than market expectations, because of soaring
rice prices.
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., the
country’s biggest company by market value, ended flat at P2,775.
Food and drinks conglomerate San Miguel
Corp.’s A-shares, reserved for Filipinos, rose 1.2 percent to P44.
Its B-shares, which have no ownership restriction, advanced 1.1
percent to P45.50.
-- AFP
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