Philippines share prices closed flat on Wednesday as last-minute profit-taking in blue chips offset gains in the broader market, dealers said. Investors turned cautious in the absence of fresh leads and did not sustain the early buy interest, with important elections for Congress due later this month a major concern.
The Philippine Stock Exchange composite index rose 1.26 points at 3,271.99 after trading between 3,270.92 and 3,308.46. The broader all-share index rose 2.98 points to 2,081.70. Gains led declines 52 to 43 with 63 stocks unchanged. Volume was 4.59 billion shares worth 3.99 billion pesos (83.96 million dollars). The peso was at 47.565 to the dollar.
"We opened stronger on bargain-hunting interest, which immediately fizzled out as investors decided to lock in profits quickly given the lack of exciting leads," said Lawrence de Leon of Accord Capital Equities. "This also reflects cautiousness in the market with the mid-term congressional elections now less than two weeks away," de Leon said.
Filipinos will elect a new batch of 12 senators, over 200 congressmen and thousands for local government positions during the May 14 polls. Top-traded Philippine Long Distance Telephone closed unchanged at 2,540 pesos after rising to an intraday high of 2,560 pesos.
Conglomerate Ayala Corp fell 5.0 pesos to 595 pesos while unit Bank of the Philippine Islands retreated 1.0 peso to 63.50 pesos. Fastfood chain Jollibee Foods Corp advanced 2.0 pesos to 51.50 pesos while property developer Megaworld Corp rose 0.10 to 3.35 pesos. Food and beverage firm San Miguel Corp's A- and B-shares were steady at 64.50 and 73.00 pesos, respectively.