PSEi drops for the 4th consecutive day amid global bearish mood

Philippine share prices dropped for the fourth consecutive day on Friday, weighed down by prevailing global bearish sentiments. The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index dropped 29.61 points or 0.70 percent to 4,219.07 while the all shares shed 9.59 points or 0.32 percent at 2,959.21. Losers dominated the market, with 89 issues declining against 40 stocks that gained and another 40 stocks that closed unchanged. Save for Mining & Oil, which advanced 3.90 percent, all other sectoral indices retreated. Financials and Property slipped by one percent each. Volume traded reached 7.22 billion valued at P6.71 billion. "The lack of positive leads, plus higher inflations and missed earnings estimate in major Asian companies, have kept a lid on the optimism over local corporate Q1 numbers. Furthermore, the break under the 4,250 support has caused apprehension over the near-term prospects of the market," said trader Justino Calaycay Jr. in a market note for Accord Capital. Overnight, both the Dow and Nasdaq closed in the red, while regional bourses were not doing any better. Japan's Nikkei and South Korea's Seoul Composite were trading lower by nearly two percent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng and Singapore's Straits Times were logging in losses of more than 0.5 percent. In the local bourse, San Miguel Corp., was the day's top traded. Its shares closed flat at P109.50. Lepanto Consolidated Mining Co. rose P0.09 or 12.5 percent to P0.81. Budget carrier Cebu Air Inc. jumped P3.50 or 3.91 percent to P93. Property developer Megaworld Corp. slid P0.11 or 4.95 percent to P2.11. Telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. shed P32 or 1.35 percent to P2,348. -- CMA/OMG, GMA News