Philippines share prices closed 1.17 percent lower on Thursday on profit-taking following a slump on Wall Street overnight amid concerns over the outlook for US inflation and interest rates, dealers said. Some bargain-hunting midway through the sesssion helped trim the losses, with the rebound in China's stock markets also helping calm investor nerves, they said.
The composite index was down 41.68 points at 3,528.79 having traded between 3,503.97 and 3,570.47. The broader all-share index fell 23.08 points to 2,252.97. Declines led gains 65 to 51, with 44 stocks unchanged. Volume was 7.47 billion shares worth 5.68 billion pesos (123.1 million dollars). The Philippine peso was at 46.14 to the dollar.
"The uneasiness on Wall Street remained a drag on the local market but we seem to have found support at around the 3,500 points level," said Westlink Global Equities chairman Rommel Macapagal said.
Overnight, US stocks slid for the second straight session, with the Dow Jones industrials down nearly 130 points after an increase in labour costs stirred concerns about inflation and interest rates in the United States, the Philippines' biggest export market.
"Technically, it's still a healthy correction and we believe the bullish long-term outlook for the local market remains intact," said Ron Rodrigo, research head at Unicapital Securities. The market's recent record-breaking run ended Monday. Top-traded Philippine Long Distance Telephone closed 35 pesos lower at 2,560 pesos.
Conglomerate SM Investments Corp was down 15 pesos at 415 pesos. Food and beverage group San Miguel Corp's A-shares were steady at 67 pesos while its B-shares fell one peso to 73 pesos.