RP stocks slide, track Wall Street decline

Local share prices slipped on Monday, in line with the slide in major stock markets in Asia following Friday's decline on Wall Street, where rising credit card losses at JPMorgan Chase & Co. stirred up concerns about profits at other big banks. Big foreign equity investors also paused for the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday in the US. The Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 0.39 percent or 12.17 points to 3,106.3, while all shares shed 0.42 percent or 8.29 points to 1,942.68. Brokerage 2TradeAsia earlier said local equities might start the week slow as foreign institutional investors pause for the US holiday. "The overall focus will be selective, specifically for stocks that moved past earlier 'congestion channels' and supported by gradual volume build-up," it said. Monday's trade volume was thinner at 1.11 billion stocks worth P3.09 billion. Losers beat gainers 73 to 31, while 58 shares were unchanged. Major stock markets in Asia such as Japan and Hong Kong were down early Monday following Wall Street's decline on Friday. Investors welcomed JPMorgan Chase's better-than-expected profit results, but were concerned about rising credit card write-offs. Bank of America Corp., Citigroup, Inc., Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo & Co. are expected to post earnings results this week. Meanwhile, of the six local subindices, only financial stocks advanced, although not that much at .13 percent or 0.86 point to 675.02. Service companies went down by 0.73 percent or 11.49 points to 1,557.61, while property shares were down by 0.68 percent or 7.4 points to 1,073.65. The industrial index also lost 0.48 percent or 22.8 points to finish at 4,740.82, while mining and oil stocks shed 0.32 percent or 33.27 points to close at 10,476.36. Holding firms likewise slid by 0.24 percent or 3.89 points to 1,633.62. — GMANews.TV