Philippines share prices closed 1.0 percent lower on Tuesday amid renewed concern over the impeachment complaint against President Gloria Arroyo, dealers said. They said this was compounded by worries about the consequences of higher oil prices on the economy.
The Philippine Stock Exchange composite index fell 19.61 points to 1,943.76 after trading between 1,942.32 and 1,963.37. Turnover amounted to 631.99 million shares worth 1.1 billion pesos (19.69 million dollars.)
The broader all-shares index retreated 9.15 points to 1,182.57.
Losers beat gainers 43 to 22, while 51 stocks ended unchanged.
The Philippine peso was trading at 55.874 to the dollar at midday.
A House of Representatives committee is due to vote later Tuesday on which of the impeachment cases against Arroyo will be pursued: a detailed complaint backed by the opposition or a simpler complaint that was filed earlier. Arroyo has been accused by the opposition of cheating in last year's presidential election. She has denied the accusations.
The developments in the House are crucial as they could determine if Arroyo could face a trial in the Senate.
Dealers said the market could suffer a further decline after having breached the 1,950 support level.
"Technical charts show we could fall to a support of 1,920, especially this time of the year, when trading in the market is usually dull," said Ron Rodrigo of Accord Capital Equities.
The most active stock, Philippine Long Distance Telephone, fell 25 pesos to 1,560. Its rival, Globe Telecom, ended down 15 pesos at 720.
Ayala Corp retreated 7.50 pesos to 300 while unit Ayala Land ended unchanged at 8.30 pesos.
San Miguel B shares, available to all investors, fell one peso to 98 while San Miguel A shares, limited to Filipino investors, was down 50 centavos at 68 pesos.
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