PHL shares prices end flat as investors look for new impetus

Philippine share prices closed the week flat on Friday, unable to find reason to move back to positive territory. The bellwether 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index inched down 1.65 points or 0.04 percent to 4,478.36 while the all shares slipped 6.54 points or 0.21 percent to 3,106.73. Losers dominated gainers, 88 to 68, while 36 stocks closed unchanged. Save for Financials and Property, all other four sectoral indices retreated, led by Mining & Oil's 2.48-percent decline. Volume traded reached 8.05-billion shares valued at P6.52 billion. Trader Justino Calaycay Jr. said the local bourse needed fresh positive developments to resume its ascent. "The impact of the original impetus for such optimism - the earlier reported encouraging path the Europe debt crisis was taking - has lost its luster. And so has some news and rumors that pushed a number of stocks to reach or close at the regulatory daily ceiling prices. Suffice to say that the market now waits for fresh reasons to keep trading on the buy side," Calaycay said. Three of the five most traded stocks posted gains. Banco de Oro Unibank Inc., the country's largest lender in terms of assets and the day's top traded, rose P2.05 or 3.39 percent to P62.50. Philex Mining Corp. lost P1.30 or 5.07 percent at P24.35. Developer Megaworld Corp. added P0.06 or 2.94 percent at P2.10. Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. shed P1.55 or 1.98 percent at P76.55. Holding company Alliance Global Group Inc. gained P0.10 or 0.89 percent at P11.40. -- CMA/OMG, GMA News