Stocks fall to 1-month low, extend losing streak to 5 days

Share prices fell yesterday for the fifth consecutive day to close at their lowest level in a month, hurt by losses in Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and other blue chips.

The benchmark 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index lost 39.56 points, or 1.7 percent, to close at 2,274.53, its worst finish since 2267.67 on July 25. The index has lost three percent over the last five sessions.

"The trend during the past few days has basically been directionless with a downward bias," said Westlink Global Equities Chairman Rommel Macapagal. "Investors may have opted to take their cash and see what happens over the weekend."

Macapagal said financial markets may also be waiting for US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s speech later Friday for clues on the direction of future monetary policy action.

PLDT was the most actively traded stock, shedding 2.8 percent to P1,890, in step with the 1.6 percent loss by the company’s American Depositary Receipts in New York Thursday.

Global Equities gave up 1.7 percent to 0.57 centavo. It hit a record high of 0.63 peso earlier in the session on continued speculation over the holding concern’s negotiations with potential new investors.

Petron fell 3.9 percent to P3.75 on concern over the potential costs the country’s largest oil refiner by assets will incur from an oil spill in the central Philippines. The oil came from a Petron plant in the north and was being transported to a power plant in the south. Petron has blamed the ship’s owner for the mishap.

All sectoral indicators retreated. Decliners led gainers 60 to 16, while 61 stocks were unchanged.

SM Prime declined 10 centavos, or 1.3 percent, to P7.70. Jollibee slumped P1, or 3.1 percent, to P31.50.

Crude oil in New York rose to the highest in more than a week as a storm may disrupt supplies from the Gulf of Mexico, and after three oil workers were kidnapped in Nigeria.

The composite index fell 2.4 percent this week, the biggest weekly decline since the period ended June 9.

Crude for October delivery gained as much as one percent to $73.05 a barrel in New York. That was the highest intraday price since Aug. 16. The contract traded at $72.90 at 10:20 a.m. Singapore time in after-hours electronic trading. The Philippines imports 95 percent of its crude.

"When the market has no positive news, no new drivers, a sudden increase in the supply of shares really has a bearing on the stock and the index,’’ Jose Vistan, head of research at AB Capital Securities Inc. said. – AP