Philippine stocks mostly lower on heightened euro debt crisis

Philippine stocks closed mostly lower in thin trading Thursday as the continuing jitters over the euro debt crisis, heightened by the prospect of Greece defaulting on its maturing obligations, kept investors on the sidelines.   “It’s another down day with participants in a cautious mood over the euro debt crisis,” said Freya Natividad, investment analyst and head of research at F. Yap Securities Inc.   Despite the corrections in recent days, “nobody wants to enter the market because of a sense of instability,” Natividad noted.   The main Philippine Stock Exchange index declined by 12.98 points or 0.27 percent to close at 4,759.49.   More than 1.436 billion shares valued at P2.361billion changed hands Thursday.   Losers led gainers 77 to 66, while 43 issues closed unchanged.   Other markets in the region also suffered from the fallout from the euro debt crisis.   “Asian shares fell and the euro slipped to a 3-week low on Thursday as another delay in cementing a crucial bailout for Greece underscored how far Europe is from resolving a debt crisis that threatens the stability of the financial system,” according to a Reuters report.   “A three-hour teleconference between euro zone finance ministers failed to resolve all the issues surrounding a second aid package for Athens, putting off any decision on the matter until Monday at the earliest,” it noted.   The Reuters report added, "It's not clear whether Athens will be able to secure funds needed to redeem bonds on March 20," citing Sumino Kamei, senior analyst at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.   The main PSEi is hovering just over the 4,730-4,740 secondary support, F. Yap’s Natividad noted. — With Reuters/TJD, GMA News