Phl share prices snap 3-day climb

MANILA, Philippines - The local benchmark index snapped yesterday a three-day climb as mixed regional sentiments pulled down share prices.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) slipped 0.08 percent or 6.17 points to close at 7,269.49 while the All Shares index fell slightly by 0.03 percent or 1.34 points to 4,274.71.

“Asian markets were mixed with the Japanese yen sliding following PM Shinzo Abe’s call for a snap election by the middle of next month. The election is seen as a referendum for Abenomics – an ambitious economic recovery platform that appears to have failed after Japan reported it entered a recession in the third quarter,” said Justino Calaycay Jr., analyst at Accord Capital Equities Corp.

Despite staying in the green for much of yesterday’s session, Calaycay said the weight of the mixed results in the region made its impact to investors.

The financial counter led the gainers with a 0.45 percent increase while holding firms took the biggest drop at 0.31 percent.

Market breadth remained negative for the 13th consecutive session as decliners crushed advancers, 98 to 84, while 42 issues were unchanged.

 Value turnover went down slightly to P7.90 billion from P8 billion the previous day.