Philippines share prices closed 1.44 percent lower on Tuesday on investor concern over rising oil prices, dealers said. They said most blue chips ended in the red, led by Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co (PLDT), although last-minute bargain-hunting lifted rival Globe Telecom Inc and other stocks.
The composite index lost 48.71 points, its biggest single-day drop in four weeks, to 3,331.29 near the day's low of 3,324.95. It touched a high of 3,378.64 earlier in the session.
The broader all-share index fell 29.74 points to 2,135.57. There were 98 losers and 42 gainers with 31 stocks unchanged. Turnover was 20.9 billion shares worth 5.6 billion pesos (116.05 million dollars).
The local currency traded at 48.255 to the dollar. Concerns over Iran's nuclear programme and the cold weather in the northern hemisphere and tightening oil supplies were driving oil prices higher, dealers said. "Rising oil prices could trigger inflation worries," said Lawrence de Leon of Accord Capital Equities.
The local equity market also "needs to undergo a correction after testing its all-time high a few days ago," he said, adding that he sees immediate support for the main index at 3,300 points. PLDT fell 55 pesos to 2,550 but competitor Globe Telecom rose five to settle at 1,375. Food and beverage firm San Miguel Corp's A-shares fell one to 65 while its B-shares slipped 50 centavos to 77 pesos.
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