Philippine stocks dip on consolidation

The Philippine stock market fell 0. 25 percent on Monday on profit taking, mirroring mostly the sentiments of the overseas equities and ahead of the upcoming long weekend. The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index slipped by 12.81 points to 5,029.63, while the broader all-share index tumbled by 0. 28 percent or 9.61 points to 3,401.71. Trading volume reached 1.94 billion shares worth 5.06 billion pesos (117.90 million U.S. dollars) with 94 stocks declining, 71 advancing, and 46 were unchanged. Of the six counters, only the industrial and the service sectors bucked the trend. "The market remains in consolidation with a downward bias as investors are geared into the long holidays which may prompt selling mode this week. Moreover, the main-index has been hovering into the 5,000 levels -- a peak and a congestion stage for the market," brokerage DBP-Daiwa Securities, Inc. said. While investors remained on the buying mode, the dearth of leads locally and overseas have prompted investors to stay at the sidelines. Foreign equities have also provided little motivation. While the Dow Jones industrial average index managed to post a gain of 34 points, Asian equities were trading mixed. "The Philippine equities may remain lethargic heading deeper into the week. Domestic leads will continue to be scarce forcing investors to seek hints from overseas," analyst Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said in his daily stock market report. Calaycay is nevertheless optimistic that reactions "are expected to be muted" as investors move to the sidelines ahead of the approaching Holy Week. "We expect bargain hunters to be on the prowl, lending support to the index, which managed to hold the 5,000-line," he said. Stocks in the 30-company index closed mixed. Globe Telecom, Inc. , Ayala Land, Inc., and Union Bank of the Philippines all ended lower. In contrast, Megaworld Corp. and heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. were picked up.