Stocks skid, peso dips as players remain skittish

MANILA, Philippines- Local share prices declined for the fourth straight day on Tuesday as investors sold their stocks ahead of the Holy Week holidays, analysts said. The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index dropped 16.26 points or 0.58 percent to 2,777.42 while the all-share index slipped 12.45 points or 0.72 percent to 1,714.07. This, as the peso slipped to a three-month low against the US dollar during mid-trade on Tuesday as investors remained cautious of risky currencies amidst the bleak projections for the US economy. The local currency touched a low of P41.75 to the greenback, lower than Monday's P41.72 close. The mid-trade value is its weakest since December 21, when touched an intraday low of P41.80 against the dollar. Jose Vistan, AB Capital Securities research chief, said that overall, the performance of the local bourse today has been "disappointing." However, he noted that because the Philippines is a predominantly Catholic nation, the long weekend ahead should also be blamed for investors' weak appetite for stocks. Francisco Liboro, PCCI Securities president, said that because the Philippine market will only have three trading days, investors are "playing safe and taking profits." "We will be unable to react on anything that occurs in New York. Investors don't want to hold on and take long positions so there's that selling pressure," he said. Liboro added that historically, the Holy Week is a "down" week for equities in the Philippines. Telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. slid P20 or 0.76 percent to P2,600. Developer Megaworld Corp. rose P0.02 or 0.97 percent to P2.08. Lopez-led electricity distributor Manila Electric Co. was flat at P77.50. Property company Ayala Land Inc. jumped P0.20 or 2.06 percent to P9.90. GMA Holdings Inc. Philippine Depositary Receipts plunged P0.20 or 2.99 percent to P6.50. Losers outnumbered gainers 65 to 31 while 34 stocks were unchanged. Volume traded reached almost 1.656 billion valued at P1.66 billion. - Cheryl Arcibal, GMANews.TV