Wall Street slide pulls down local share prices

Wall Street's close below the psychological level of 10,000 points on Monday — the first time in three months — pulled local stock prices to their lowest in more than four months on Tuesday. The Philippine Stock Exchange index posted its fourth two-digit loss this month, sliding by 1.72 percent or 48.99 points to 2,797.61. The six subindices fell across the board. "The local market is absorbing the negative impact of trading in the overseas market," Emmanuel Soller of Equitiworld Securities said. "Those who were able to sell before the market plunged below the 3,000 level can now go back to [buying]," Soller said, adding that the market’s steady decline is bad news for those who had stocked up on shares when the market was higher. Jasper Jimenez of Banco De Oro Securities Corp. said mounting deficits in weaker European economies, concerns about growth in China and proposed US bank regulations did not help. The Dow Jones industrial average, went down by almost 104 points overnight, extending a slump that has led to four straight weekly losses. On the local front, a total of 884 million stocks worth P3.28 billion were traded, with losers five times as many as gainers — 95 to 19 — while 40 stocks were unchanged. Tuesday’s biggest loser, electronics company Active Alliance, Inc., dropped by 18 percent to P7. Holding company Mabuhay Holdings Corp., on the other hand, was the biggest gainer, rising by almost a fifth to 39 centavos. Of the six subindices, mining and oil stocks got the most beating with a 3.27-percent or 303.66-point drop to 8,995.64. Industrial stocks followed, losing 2.3 percent or 100.47 points to 4,270.35l, while financial companies fell by 2.21 percent or 13.04 points to 577.48 points. Property stocks also lost 2.03 percent or 19.59 points to 946.56, while services went down by 1.11 percent or 16.06 points to 1,435.81. Holding firms likewise shed 0.46 percent or 7.09 points to 1,531.74. While Jimenez said the index might recover later this week once the US market picks up, Soller said it might be difficult to reach the 3,000-point level. "We’d be lucky to gain even half of what we lost," Soller said. — Nikka Corsino/NPA, GMANews.TV