MANILA, Philippines – The local bourse retreated for the fifth straight day yesterday, ignoring the climb in Asian and global markets.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index eased 0.10 percent or six points to 6,008.90, recovering from the intraday low of 5,989.08. The broader all shares index fell 0.21 percent or 7.67 points to 3,680.80.
“Against a backdrop of optimism that covers the rest of Asia, Philippine shares started the week on the same footing it ended the previous four sessions,” Justino Calaycay Jr., an analyst at Accord Capital Equities Corp.
Given the historical average increase of the main index during December, Calaycay said “the best the index could hope for would be around 6,400. Anything above it will be a welcome surprise.”
Wall Street gained on Friday amid stronger-than-expected US job creation last month. The Dow Jones Industrial average rose 1.26 percent or 198.69 points to 16,020.20, while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 1.12 percent or 20.06 points to 1,805.09.
Japan’s Nikkei 225 rallied 2.29 percent or 350.35 points to 15,650.21, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index picked up 0.29 percent or 68.07 points to 23,811.17.
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Most counters were in the red, paced by property firms that shed 1.18 percent or 27.81 points to 2,320.95. But holding firms improved 0.78 percent or 42.86 points to 5,537.86.
The value of shares traded slipped to P4.58 billion from P5.9 billion on Friday. Decliners outpaced advancers, 99 to 53, while 40 stocks did not change.
