PHL share prices fall, extend losses on US economy health woes

Philippine share prices fell on Wednesday, extending their losses on uncertainties over the US economy's health. The bellwether 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index dropped 52.78 points or 1.16 percent to 4,488.45 while the all-shares slipped 39.91 points or 1.27 percent to 3,102.43. Market breadth was negative with 126 losers routing 33 gainers and 31 stocks that closed unchanged. Save for Mining & Oil, which shed 0.17 percent, all other sub-indices retreated, led by Property's 1.91-percent dip, and Holding Firms' 1.84-percent slide. "The expected impact of the resolution of the US debt deal petered out too soon while the push from earnings have yet to materialize...Attention shifts back to macro-fundamentals, with forecasts of slower US growth keeping optimism muted," said trader Justino Calaycay Jr. of Accord Capital Equities. The latest report indicated that American consumers were turning cautious and were opting to save, which would further weaken the world’s largest economy, kept investors on the edge. Overnight, the Dow and Nasdaq lost over two percent respectively. Asian markets on Wednesday also reflected the bearish global sentiment. Except for the main index in Shanghai, bourses in the region were trading at a discount of between 0.72 percent and 2.42 percent. In the local bourse, three of the five most active stocks for the day posted losses. Alternative power producer Energy Development Corp., the day's top traded, shed P0.05 or 0.75 percent at P6.66. Lepanto Consolidated Mining Co. rose P0.02 or 1.67 percent to P1.22. Atlas Consolidated Mining & Development Corp. declined P1.25 or 5.26 percent to P22.50. Zeus Holdings Inc. slumped 0.02 or 2.13 percent to P0.92. Telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. was flat at P2,398. -- CMA/OMG, GMA News