PHL shares drop on euro debt jitters, Asia's losses

Philippine shares dropped on thin trading Thursday as the euro debt crisis continued to weigh in on Asian markets. The main Philippine Stock Exchange index fell 50.16 point or 1.17 percent to close at 4,210.25. In general, the market is consolidating within the 3,050-4,300 range toward the end of the year, said stock broker Harry Liu, president of Summit Securities Inc. “Any downward shift would be because of the euro debt crisis," Liu noted. Over 3.856 billion shares valued at P3.886 billion changed hands. In the case of the New York market, Liu said it was a rebound in the wake of the Dow Jones Industrial average’s nearly 500-point loss earlier this week. “So, last night’s nearly 200-point gain of the Dow Jones Industrial average was not surprising," he added. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 178.08 points, or 1.53 percent, at 11,836.04, a according to a Reuters report. In a separate report, Reuters said, “Asian shares, the euro, commodities and the Australian dollar all fell on Thursday as fears that Europe's debt crisis could unleash financial chaos prompted investors to shed riskier assets in favor of the relative safety of the dollar." In the Philippine bourse Thursday, decliners led advancers 79 to 48 and 32 issues closed unchanged. — GMA News