RP stocks close lower in cautious trading

Philippine share prices slipped in cautious trading Wednesday as investors cashed in on recent gains.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 19.43 points or 0.59 percent to close at 3,254.83, with about 1.59 billion stocks worth P3.2 billion changing hands.

“The market’s downward movement was marginal. We should just take into consideration the general sentiment of investors, who remain concerned about Europe and the general weakness of the US market," said April Tan of online brokerage CitisecOnline.

“Investors continue to be jittery, causing cautious trading especially those who have been making money," Tan added.

Tan discounted the impact of local politics, such as Wednesday’s proclamation of the Sen. Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III as the country’s 15th president, and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay as vice president.

Traders said that the positive results of the May 10 polls have already been absorbed and discounted by the market.

The 123.49-point gain overnight by the Dow Jones Industrial Average was largely ignored by Asian markets still jittery over Europe’s debt crisis.

In Wednesday’s session on the Philippine bourse, losers outnumbered gainers, 54 to 35, with 77 issues unchanged.

Five of the six subindices slid, save for mining and oil index which gained by more than 1 percent.

Source: GmaNews