Index eases due to lack of market-moving news

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine share prices eased yesterday due  to the absence of market-moving news on the domestic front, analysts said.

At the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the main composite index  eased 2.16 points to settle at 5,424.51 while the All Shares index was down by 7.18 points to 3,580.59.

All sectoral indices were down except for  holding firms and property sectors which recorded a 21.23-point and 16.75-point increase, respectively.

Market breadth was positive with advancers outnumbering gainers 87 to 75 while 48 issues were unchanged.

Total volume turnover amounted to 3.54 billion shares worth P6.35 billion

Across Asia, most markets were up yesterday after Wall Street stayed closed for a second day as a hurricane ravaged the East Coast of the United States.

In Tokyo, the regional heavyweight, the benchmark Nikkei 225 was up 1.2 percent at 8,928.29. Hong Kong added 0.5 percent to 21,641.82 while South Korea’s Kospi added 0.7 percent to 1,912.89.

Global markets stayed calm despite Hurricane Sandy’s disruption of US trading. Losses Monday in Europe were recovered Tuesday.

The New York Stock Exchange’s decision to close Tuesday marks the first time weather has stopped trading for two straight days since 1888. Experts expect storm damage of about $20 billion, about half of that insured.

Elsewhere in Asia, Sydney’s S&P ASX 200 gained 0.7 percent to 4,517. Taiwan’s Taiex was off 0.2 percent at 7,166.05 and Singapore declined 0.2 percent to 3,038.37. India’s Sensex was flat at 18,249.1.

Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average declined 0.1 percent to 13,107.21 while the Standard & Poor’s 500 rose by a similar margin to 1,408.50.

In the United States, investors were looking ahead to Friday’s Labor Department release of jobs data that are expected to show little change in payrolls.