PSEi down on UK economic jitters

The Philippine Stock Exchange index fell Wednesday as fresh concerns on the British economy rekindled global risk aversion. "The unexpected downturn in the British economy surprised investors," said Astro del Castillo, managing director of First Grade Finance Inc. The PSEi dropped 28.66 points or 0.72 percent to close at 3,931.64, according to the PSE's online market information as of 12:10 p.m. Still, value turnover was relatively high at P7.228 billion, with more than 1.413 billion shares changed hands. Decliners edged out advancers 88 to 50, while 39 issues remained unchanged. The UK's economic growth, which showed a 0.5-percent GDP drop in the last three months of 2010, fueled speculation that the British economy was heading back into recession, according to an AP report. Recession is defined as two quarters of negative growth. Also, most investors "shrugged off" the bloody bombing incident at the country's financial district Tuesday, Del Castillo said, pointing out that there was no "panic selling" during Wednesday's trading session. Still, the bombing incident in Makati prodded some investors to "play safe." — JE, GMANews.TV