RP share prices drop on cautious sentiment

Cautious sentiment, fanned by Wall Street’s slump overnight, pulled Philippine share prices lower Monday. The market is also anticipating for the economic policies from the new administration that will take over Malacañang next June. The Philippine Stock Exchange index dropped by 41.11 points or 1.23 percent to close at 3,289.31. Volume turnover was at 1.94 billion stocks worth P3.5 billion. Losers paced gainers 80 to 36, and 55 were unchanged. “We were caught in the wave of the flunks of the overseas market. Domestically we’re still waiting for clear directions despite knowing who the winner will be in the presidency. We are still waiting for an official statement, as well as more details on the steps that would be taken for the economic program of the new administration," analyst Astro del Castillo of First Grade Holdings said in an interview. It seemed that the market would track the same path in the coming weeks, despite the positive news on corporate earnings, Del Castillo said. “But basically this is also healthy for the market after several run-ups last week," he added. The Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled by 162.79 points overnight, while the NASDAQ composite fell 47.51, and Standard & Poor’s 500 index finished lower by 21.76 points. The Philippine market’s broader all-share index lost 19.22 points or 0.92 percent to close at 2,069.86. Five of the six subindices went down, led by property stocks, fell by 36.54 points or 2.9 percent to close at 1,225.69. Mining and oil stocks lost 211.53 points or 2.4 percent to finish at 8,579.03, while industrial stocks went down by 85.76 points or 1.67 percent to close at 5,064.74. Holding firms, meanwhile, slid by 25.3 points or 1.17 percent to close at 2,131.07, while service stocks shed 8.87 points or 0.6 percent to finish at 1,488.91. Top gainer Metro Pacific Tollways Corp. advanced 50 centavos to P7.50, while loser Benguet Corp.’s B stocks shed P2 to close at P14. Heavily traded Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., finished P5 lower at P2,500. —VS, GMANews.TV