Stocks take another heavy beating

MANILA, Philippines - Share prices took on another heavy beating yesterday after making a brief recovery the previous day.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell 0.71 percent, or 48.93 points, to close at 6,893.54, while the broader All Shares index declined 0.56 percent, or 22.24 points, to 3,954.35.

Heavy selling once more dominated the market yesterday as another set of disappointing Chinese and Japanese economic data dampened mood of investors.

Analysts said Asian stocks in general felt the effects of the sluggish data from the two Asian powerhouses.

US stocks, meanwhile, finished with a decline of more than one percent on Wednesday behind the drop in shares of Apple and energy companies due to lower oil prices.

Services firms dropped 1.76 percent, while industrial and property companies shed 1.22 percent and 1.15 percent, respectively.

Total value of stocks traded thinned to P6.10 billion from the previous day’s P7.61 billion.

Market breadth returned to the negative territory as decliners crushed advancers, 103 to 58, while 42 stocks were unchanged.

“Our tone in the recent days may easily be mistaken as bearish. To a certain extent, it may well be. Alternatively, it can be seen as a weaker bull. Regardless, it is the basis for our current stance of wait-and-see,” said Justino Calaycay Jr., analyst at Philstocks Financial Inc.