Philippines share prices closed 1.51 percent lower on Friday, extending losses as the opposition stepped up its campaign to oust President Gloria Arroyo on charges she cheated in last year's elections, dealers said. They said major blue chips Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) and Ayala Corp led decliners amid plans by the opposition to stage fresh street protests against Arroyo.
The Philippine Stock Exchange composite index fell 20.89 points to 1,895.25 after trading between 1,895.18 and 1,924.23.
Turnover amounted to 325.77 million shares worth 1.53 billion pesos (27.35 million dollars).
The index has fallen 2.66 percent from last week.
The broader all-shares index retreated 12.20 points to 1,161.79.
Losers outnumbered gainers 43 to 20, with 40 stocks ending unchanged. Dealers said market players have opted to remain liquid ahead of the weekend as they await further political developments. Arroyo is under siege from opponents who claim she cheated in last year's election and she is now facing an impeachment complaint in Congress.
"Jitters remain. Investors are still nervous given the brewing political situation. There's apparently no resolution in sight," said Lawrence de Leon of Accord Capital Equities.
"The worst case scenario for us going forward is a military coup, while the best scenario would be that people would forget about it (the Arroyo controversy) and move on," said Jose Vistan of AB Capital Securities.
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