Local stocks track Wall Street plunge

Local stocks plunged on Wednesday, tracking Wall Street's biggest one-day drop in nine months due to reduced debt ratings on Greece and Portugal and Goldman Sachs' alleged profiteering on the collapse of the housing market. The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) tumbled by 22.93 points or 0.69 percent, finishing below the 3,300 psychological level at 3284.78. "We were affected by the crash in the overseas market because of the downgrading of Greece's and Portugal's debt ratings. This is no longer a surprise for us but investors really reacted and the local market was not spared," analyst Astro del Castillo of First Grade Holdings said in an interview. He added that a market consolidation is expected in the coming days following a series of stock market gains in the past week. The broader all-share index lost 15 points or 0.73 percent to 2035.56. Volume turnover was at 1.27 billion stocks worth P2.98 billion. "The trade volume was a good sign, which meant that there was no panic selling," del Castillo said. Subindices went down across the board, led by holding firms, which lost 1.04 percent or 22.12 points to 2,102.56. Industrial stocks tumbled by a percent to 50.71 points to 4,999.4, while service stocks shed 0.67 percent or 10.10 points to 1487.67. Property stocks likewise went down by 0.54 percent or 6.58 points to 1,212.36. Mining and oil stocks closed 0.47 percent or 42.47 points lower, finishing at 9,053.68. Financial stocks also lost 0.07 percent or 0.5 point, closing at 707.77. Decliners outnumbered gainers, 72 to 27, with 61 steady. Bogo Medellin Milling Company, the day's biggest gainer, added P30.50 to P92, while Euro-Med Laboratories Philippines, Inc, the biggest loser, shed 64 centavos to P1.06. Three of the 20 most active stocks posted gains, led by SM Prime Holdings, Inc., closing 25 centavos higher at P10.25. DMCI Holdings, Inc. and International Container Terminal Services, Inc. each added a peso to finish at P17.25 and P29, respectively. Metrobank, the most traded stock, was steady at P53.50. Share prices of Energy Development Corp., Banco de Oro Unibank, Inc., and Aboitiz Power Corp., were also unchanged at P5.40, P43, and P14.75, respectively. Bank of the Philippine Islands, Security Bank Corp., and Megaworld Corp. also stayed at P46, P59.50, and P1.32, respectively. First Philippine Holdings Corp.and Universal Robina Corp. each lost 50 centavos, finishing at P55 and P25.50, respectively. Metro Pacific Investments Corp. and Pepsi-Cola Products Philippines, Inc. each shed 5 centavos to close at P3.10 and P2.90, respectively. Dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. likewise closed P25 lower at P2,485, while SM Investments Corp. went down by P5 to P395. Globe Telecom, Inc. lost P15 to P950, while Alliance Global Group, Inc. shed 20 centavos to P5.70. Century Peak Metal Holdings finished 15 centavos lower at P3.50, while Jollibee Foods Corp. shed a peso to close at P55.50. -- Nikka Corsino, GMANews.TV