Philippines shares little changed

Philippines share prices closed flat on Tuesday in the absence of positive news, dealers said. The composite index edged 0.88 points lower to 2,930.09, while the all shares index inched up 0.88 points to 1,847.15. Turnover reached 786.87 million shares worth 2.44 billion pesos (52.49 million dollars) with 36 issues up, 69 down and 64 others unchanged.
"After a good run-up last week, there's no positive catalyst that can prop up trading today. People are also still assessing the macro- and micro-economic impact of the two recent typhoons," Erwin Balita of SB Equities told Dow Jones Newswires. Short-term, Balita said the market was likely to trade between 2,900 and 2,970 points. Philippine Long Distance Telephone was unchanged at 2,610 pesos, and Energy Development Corp also stayed at 4.75 pesos. Filinvest Land fell 2.04 percent to 96 centavos.