PHL share prices end lower again amid Greek debt worries

Philippine share prices found no reason to snap from a downturn as Greek debt worries remained the main concern of the global economy. The Philippine Stock Exchange Index gave up early gains in the session to end lower by 19.97 points or 0.48 percent at 4,153.11 while the all shares slipped 3.97 points or 0.13 percent to 2,944.01. Gainers edged out losers, 65 to 53, while 54 stocks closed unchanged. The six sectoral indices were split in half, with Financials, Property and Services in the red, while Industrial, Holdings Firms and Services closing in the red. Volume traded reached 1.48 billion shares valued at P6.99 billion. "Entering an extended weekend, the investors may find little reason to load up on their equity portfolio, particularly in the context of the prevailing headwinds," said trader Justino Calaycay Jr. of Accord Capital Equities. Greece has yet to find a solution for its debts as the international community scrambles to put together a rescue package for Athens in a bid to prevent a huge disruption for the global financial system. Overnight, US stocks failed to held on to early gains and posted mixed results. The Dow Jones industrial average added 0.54 percent while tech-heavy Nasdaq retreated 0.29 percent. In Asia meanwhile, the mood was generally bleak. Save for the miniscule gains in Australia, Shanghai and Malaysia, all other bourses were trading at a loss. Leading the decline was South Korea, trading lower by over one percent, while Indonesia and Japan were losing by 0.74 percent and 0.52 percent, respectively. In the local bourse, SM Investments Corp., the day's most active stock, was flat at P540. Telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. slumped P58 or 2.57 percent to P2,202. Developer Megaworld Corp. slid P0.01 or 0.52 percent to P1.90. Aboitiz Power Corp. surged P1.70 or 5.69 percent to P31.55. Semirara Mining Corp. climbed P15.60 or 7.76 percent to P216.60. -- CMA/OMG, GMA News