Philippine stocks end flat on profit-taking

Philippine share prices ended flat on Wednesday as investors took profits on cue from foreign market's that incurred losses overnight. The Philippines Stock Exchange index inched up by 6.48 points or 0.2 percent to finish at 3,269.41. "It's just profit-taking from yesterday's rally. People who have not come in yet are reluctant to buy in because they are waiting for a correction. In fact we should expect the market to make a correction tomorrow," Joseph Roxas of Eagle Securities said. Trading, however, was brisk with 1.88 billion stocks worth P26.73 billion changing hands, boosted by special block sales worth P23.13 billion representing 86.91 percent of the day's trade in power distributor Manila Electric Co. Decliners outnumbered gainers, 54 to 48, with 59 unchanged. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 36.88 points, while the NASDAQ composite inched up by 0.64 point. Standard & Poor's 500 index, meanwhile, shed 3.94 points, while Asian markets also posted declines. The Philippine Stock Exchange’s all-share index added 8.09 points or 0.4 percent, closing at 2,044.51. Half of the six subindices posted gains, led by property stocks that went up by 17.96 points or 1.51 percent to 1,204.87. Holding firms likewise gained 6.28 points or 0.3 percent to close at 2094.14, while mining and oil stocks finished 15.44 points or 0.17 percent higher at 8,842.66. Bucking the trend were service stocks, which shed 4.26 points or 0.29 percent to close at 1486.52. Financial stocks also lost 0.77 point or 0.11 percent to close at 696.63, while industrial stocks went down by 0.85 point or 0.02 percent to 5,082.71. Top gainer Euro-Med Laboratories Philippines Inc. added 52 centavos to close at P1.58. Manuel Villar-led real estate firm Vista Land and Lifescapes Inc., the day’s biggest loser, dropped 16 centavos to close at P1.58. Most traded stock Energy Development Corp. fell 10 centavos to close at P5.30, while Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. lost P15 to P2,480. —VS, GMANews.TV