PSE index ends lower in cautious trading

The Philippine Stock Exchange index ended lower for the second consecutive day on Friday as the higher January inflation rate "worried" investors. "Consumer prices are going up. As a result, tumataas ang cost of production ng mga companies at liliit ang margin nila. This eventually resulted in cautious trading," said trader Lawrence de Leon of Accord Capital Equities Corp. The PSEi shed 16.20 points or 0.42 percent to close at 3,872.35, according to the PSE's online market information as of 12:10 p.m. Market turnover — which reached just P2.775 billion — was "sharply lower from the daily average," De Leon said. More than 2.425 billion shares were changed hands. There were 76 decliners, 58 advancers, and 38 issues unchanged during the relatively thin trading session Friday. De Leon also said the lack of market leads from Wall Street and some regional markets dragged Philippine share prices. "Some Asian markets [were] closed due to the celebration of Chinese New Year. And, Wall Street moved sideways overnight," he said. "Chinese investors are in a holiday mode. Their absence in the market naturally affected the volume of shares traded," De Leon added. — JE/OMG, GMANews.TV