PSEi edges lower on lack of market leads

The Philippine Stock Exchange index slipped on Friday amid a dearth of fresh leads from Wall Street and other regional markets. "When there is lack of leads from external factors, the tendency of the market is to go slightly lower," said analyst Prince Yeung of AB Capital Securities Inc. The PSEi shed 20.15 points or 0.5 percent to close at 3,970.34, according to the PSE's online market information as of 12:10 p.m. Value turnover totaled P5.457 billion, with more than 7.346 billion shares traded. There were 82 decliners, 54 advancers and 47 issues unchanged during Friday's trading session. Asian stock markets were lower Friday after Standard & Poor's slashed Japan's credit rating for the first time in almost nine years Thursday. The downgrade has issued a harsh critique of the government's ability to control its ballooning debt, an AP report said. On Wall Street Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average inched up just 4.39 points to close at 11,989.83. Also, Yeung said the market's drop Friday can be attributed to the "weakness" of listed Manila Electric Co. (Meralco), Philippines' largest power distributor. Share price of Meralco fell 8 percent during Friday's trading from Thursday's close. "Meralco had applied for higher electricity rates from the [Energy Regulatory Commission], but the latter instead granted them lower power charges. It affects how much money they can make this year," Yeung explained. — JE/OMG, GMANews.TV