Profit-taking takes toll on PHL shares, cued by US sell-off

Profit-taking took its toll on Philippine shares Wednesday, cued by the sharp sell-offs overnight on Wall Street and inclusive developments out of the European leaders’ summit. The main Philippine Stock Exchange index fell 17.76 points or 0.41 percent to close at 4,224.76. “For one, the sharp sell-offs in the US market served as the main catalyst for profit-taking after two days of advances," said Manny Cruz, senior analyst at Asiasec Securities Inc. The Dow Jones Industrial average dropped 205.18 points, or 1.72 percent, to 11,708.44 on Tuesday. More than 6.828 billion Philippine shares worth P8.631 billion were traded during Wednesday’s session. “For now, developments in the Philippines are not the main factors influencing us — it’s more of developments abroad," Cruz said. “A lot of people are still waiting for results of the EU summit and a favorable reaction from the US," the Asiasec analyst noted. Reuters reported, “Prospects for a comprehensive deal to resolve the euro zone debt crisis at a summit on Wednesday look dim, with deep disagreement remaining on critical aspects of the potential agreement, including how to give the region's bailout fund greater firepower." “EU officials and European diplomats are lowering expectations of a breakthrough when the 17 euro zone leaders meet, despite Franco-German assurances only weeks ago that a "comprehensive solution" to more than two years of debt and economic turmoil would be found by the end of the month," the report added. Declining Philippine shares led gainers 77 to 59 with 37 issues closing unchanged. “We are still with the market’s resistance area. So, any rally will be taken as an opportunity for profit-taking," Cruz said. — KBK, GMA News