Stocks fall; players spooked by political tension

Philippines share prices declined on Thursday, bucking the trend set by Wall Street and other regional markets as local traders played safe due to local political tension. The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index slid 11.75 points or 0.36 percent to 3,211.60 while the all-share index dropped 7.98 points or 0.41 percent to 1,955.40. Losers trounced gainers 61 to 30 while 53 stocks were unmoved. Volume traded reached 2.12 billion valued at P3.35 billion. Charisse Nierra, analyst at the online stockbrokerage firm 2TradeAsia, said investors were worried by the protest action that will be mounted in Makati City on Friday. Protesters will be converging to denounce government officials linked to alleged massive corruption in the $329.5-million National Broadband Network deal with Chinese company ZTE Corp. "The decline was because of political issues. Investors are also watching closely for the rally tomorrow," Nierra said. On Wednesday in New York, US stocks rose sharply after the US Commerce Department reported an unexpected increase in retail sales last month and eased some concerns about consumers' willingness to spend despite economic uncertainty. Following, Wall Street's rise, share prices in Hong Kong and Japan appreciated significantly in early trade Thursday. In local trade, conglomerate Ayala Corp. rose P7.50 or 1.68 percent to P455. Property unit Ayala Land Inc. fell P1 or 7.41 percent to P12.50. Telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. jumped P30 or 1.01 percent to P2,990. Property company Megaworld Corp. slipped P0.15 or 5.56 percent to P2.55. Fastfood heavyweight Jollibee Foods Corp. surged P3 or 6.06 percent to P52.50. - Cheryl Arcibal, GMANews.TV