Philippines share prices closed 0.08 percent lower on Thursday, weighed down by disappointing economic growth figures and the downturn on Wall Street, dealers said. The composite index fell 2.01 points to 2,354.37 while the all-shares index rose 0.11 percent to 1,529.96 points.
Officials said Thursday that growth had slowed to just 0.4 percent in the three months to March. There were 51 gainers, 52 losers and 49 unchanged. Volume totalled 7.329 billion shares worth 2.256 billion pesos (47.4 million dollars). The local currency traded at 47.552 to the dollar on Thursday morning from its close of 47.37 on the previous trading day.
The low economic growth figure for the first quarter "is a disappointment so it reflects on the market," said Jun Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Inc. The downturn was tempered by expectations that monetary authorities would cut key rates even further when they meet later on Thursday. "The lower-than-expected economic growth may push the central bank to cut the rates," he said.
"The market is moving sideways because of the economic growth figures," said Bernie Panuelos of Westlink Global Equities Inc. "The market is also taking its cue from the outcome of the US market," he added. Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co fell 0.22 percent to 2,225 pesos and Filinvest Land slipped 1.4 percent to 70 centavos. Ayala Land Inc gained 1.2 percent to 8.40 pesos while Megaworld Corp rose 1.07 percent to 94 centavos.
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