Index tumbles on concerns about Wall St drop

Stocks slipped yesterday, as a sharp drop on Wall Street was partly offset by bargain hunting on news of an acceleration in economic growth.

The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index closed down 3.97 points, or 0.2 percent, at 2,296.11, after being down as much as 2.4 percent before the GDP data were released. The index rose 17.19 points Tuesday.

The broader All Shares Index lost 2.39 points to 1,434.77 after gaining 7.29 points Tuesday.

"We’ve been trying to de-couple from Wall Street, but it is hard to ignore such a sharp fall, especially given PLDT’s decline," said Rommel Macapagal, president of Westlink Global Equities.

The Philippine government reported first-quarter gross domestic product rose 5.5 percent on year and 0.9 percent on quarter due to a recovery in farm output and steady growth in industry. The data were at the higher end of the 5.2 percent to 5.5 percent on year expected by six economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 184.18 points to 11,094.43 on US inflation worries and eroding consumer confidence.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) dropped 3.4 percent to P1,975 after its New York-listed American depositary receipts lost 4.4 percent. PLDT’s chief rival, Globe Telecom, slipped 1.1 percent to P900.

Tempering the market’s retreat, Ayala Land rose 3.9 percent to P13.25 and shopping mall operator SM Prime Holdings gained 3.85 percent to P8.20.

Analysts hope that news of the strong first quarter GDP will continue to support the stock market when trading resumes Thursday.

Sectoral indicators were mixed, with the financial, industrial, holding firms and property subindexes ending higher, while the service, and mining and oil sectors finished lower.

Losers led gainers 44 to 38 with 47 stocks unchanged.

The broader all-shares index retreated 2.39 points to 1,434.77.

The Philippine peso was at 52.782 to the dollar as of mid-day.

Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by a healthy 5.5 percent year-on-year in the first quarter, driven by a recovery in agriculture and further strength in the services sector.

"The GDP data was encouraging but in a bear (falling) market like this, it seems any good news will do nothing," said Nestor Aguila of DA Market Securities Inc.

"There’s no change in our economic fundamentals but the bottom line here is what’s happening to the market is a global thing," Aguila added. – AP, AFP