PSEi slightly up, appears flat in coming days

The Philippine Stock Exchange index slightly moved up on Wednesday as investors are still not convinced to aggressively enter the market. "There are still a lot of uncertainties surrounding the nuclear fallout [in Japan]," said investment analyst Freya Natividad of 2TradeAsia.com. "We won't experience a stable market for a while." The PSEi rose 1.38 points or 0.04 percent to close at 3,855.52, according to the PSE's online market information as of 12:10 p.m. Value turnover was relatively thin at P3.570 billion, with more than 1.176 billion shares that changed hands. Decliners outnumbered advancers, 74 to 57, while 52 issues remained unchanged. The stock market also showed a reluctance to move higher as Western forces continued their strikes against Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, Natividad said. "These uncertainties would persist, making the trading in the coming days sluggish," she said. — JE, GMA News