Philippine stocks tumble on negative developments overseas

 Bargain hunters found little reason to keep buying the battered issues, sending the Philippine stock market trading lower on Friday.
The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 0.36 percent, or 25.36 points, to 7,003.22, while the broader all-share index slipped by 0.31 percent, or 12.81 points, to 4,150.28.
Trading volume reached 4.23 billion shares worth 28.49 billion pesos (635.8 million U.S. dollars) with 94 stocks advancing, 88 declining, and 39 were unchanged.
Of the six counters, only the financial and the service sectors bucked the trend.
Brokerage 2TradeAsia.com attributed Friday's drop to stateside developments, such as the possible delay in ending the U.S. Federal Reserve's asset purchase program.
"Locally, investors based their confidence on the sustained growth of remittances ahead of the holiday spending season," it said.
Should investors find an excuse to beef up their portfolio, the online brokerage said it will likely come from hopes for improved corporate earnings for the second quarter.
"Aim for trading opportunities in previously beaten stocks," 2TradeAsia.com said.
For the week, the index lost as much as 2.28 percent.
Stocks in the 30-company index closed mixed. Among those sold down were Ayala Land, Inc., SM Prime Holdings, Inc., and SM Investments Corp.