|
LOCAL share prices fell to an 18-month low on Monday
amid fears about rising inflation, dealers said.
The composite index gave up 38.49
points to 2,739.44, trading in the red for most of the day after
opening slightly higher. Monday’s close was its weakest finish
since November 2, 2006, when it settled at 2,721.78.
The all-share index was down
19.30 points at 1,711.36.
Decliners thumped advancers 81 to
15, while 54 stocks were steady.
Turnover rose to P2.4 billion
from Friday’s P1.9 billion.
The peso traded at 42.10 to the
dollar.
“The market was spooked by
crude oil prices hitting almost $120 a barrel. The ghost of
inflation continues to haunt investors,” said Astro del Castillo
of First Grade Holdings.
“Philippine stocks are oversold
but there are no fresh leads that can entice investors to go back
and pick up bargains,” he added.
Recent downward revisions in the
Philippines’ economic growth forecasts by foreign investment
houses has “severely hurt the country’s image as one of the
economies that could decouple from the US slowdown by sustaining our
own growth momentum,” said Francisco Liboro of PCCI Securities.
Liboro said foreign investment
houses placed too much weight on exports, which contribute only
slightly to the mainly “consumption-driven” economic growth.
For this year, the Philippine
government is projecting growth will ease to a range of 6.3 percent
to 7 percent from a 30-year high of 7.3 percent last year.
Philippine Long Distance
Telephone Co. fell 0.6 percent to P2,510.
SM Investments Co. was
0.4-percent lower at P249.
San Miguel Corp. was steady at
P44.50 for A shares and P46 for B shares.
--AFP
|
