Index ends flat amid mixed leads

MANILA, Philippines - Local shares closed barely unchanged at the 6,300 level as investors battled for position amid mixed leads.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) slightly fell 0.05 percent or 3.21 points to 6,320.96, while the broader all shares index inched up 0.22 percent or 8.39 points to 3,860.60.

“Mixed leads and technical considerations kept investors on guard, albeit selective purchases were evident in mid-week trades,” said Justino Calaycay Jr., analyst at Accord Capital Equities Corp.

“The PSEi’s move to alternating days of gains and losses is a welcome sight, particularly coming off the heels of a seven-session slide,” Calaycay said, adding that this indicates the presence of bulls at the 6,200-mark.

For instance, investors were treated with news that merchandise exports picked up for the fourth straight month, with outbound shipments hitting $5.05 billion in September, up 4.9 percent from a year ago.

However, negative leads came from regional and global markets.

Asian stocks dropped given mixed signals from US Federal Reserve officials on the timing of the tapering.

Most counters were in the green, paced by industrial firms that added 0.78 percent or 70.32 points to 9,082.13. But financial firms declined 0.74 percent or 11.32 points to 1,517.32.

The value of shares traded eased to P7.3 billion from P11.24 billion on Tuesday. Decliners outpaced advancers, 85 to 72, while 36 stocks did not change.