Philippines Markets: 12 October 2010

12 October 2010

USD/PhP: 43.64 + 0.04 PSEi: 4166.52 - 52.31
USD/JPY: 81.92 PFINC: 942.28 - 9.04
EUR/USD: 1.3837 BDO: 59.75 - 0.20
GBP/USD: 1.5876 BPI: 55.00 + 0.05
PDSTF3M: 4.0173 + 0.0135 MBT: 72.75 - 1.75
Prices as of 4:00pm Source: Bloomberg, Reuters


Roundup: Philippine stocks extend decline Tuesday

MANILA, Oct 12, 2010 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- The Philippine
market extended its decline on Tuesday after investors decided
to continue booking their gains for the third consecutive time.
The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index tumbled by
1.23 percent or 52.31 points to 4,166.52, while the broader all-
share index lost 1.06 percent or 28.50 points to 2,659.75.
Trading volume reached 1.43 billion shares worth 6.08
billion pesos (140.09 million U.S. dollars). Decliners swept
advancers 101 to 41 while 25 stocks did not move.
Of the six counters, the property sector suffered the
biggest blow following the Philippine Stock Exchange's
announcement that the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) will
not push through this year and after the Finance Department has
requested some changes.
"The market declined due to lack of leads locally. The
U.S. market has been moving sideways, providing also little
incentives for investors to enter the equities," Juan Carlos
Garcia, analyst at 2TradeAsia.com, said in an interview.
Given the overbought level of the market, investors felt
it wise to book their gains and re-position their portfolios
ahead of the release of the third quarter earnings of the
companies later this month.
The third quarter results, coupled with the traditional
"Santa Claus" rally by December, will give impetus for the
equities to resume its uptrend, Garcia said.
"Right now, investors are looking which companies
performed well and will likely to perform well. Investors still
remain very bullish so we expect the market to pick up again,"
he added.
Property issues were among those that were sold down by
investors. Garcia said investors have been expecting the REIT
to push through this year.
"That was the main story of the property issues but then
again apparently, REIT listing will not happen this year,"
Garcia said.
REIT is a publicly-listed corporation that will invest in
income-producing real estate assets like apartments, office
buildings, and warehouses.
Stock price of Ayala Land, Inc., Philippines' largest
property firm, tumbled by 3.44 percent, while Filinvest Land,
Inc. lost 2. 18 percent of its value. Megaworld Corp. was also
down by 2.6 percent.
Heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., Energy
Development Corp. and the Philippine National Bank also
finished lower.


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Jonathan Ravelas
Chief Market Strategist
(632) 858-3145

Rhys Cruz
Junior Researcher
(632) 858-3001