Positive economic data fails to lift Philippine bourse

The Philippine stock market failed to sustain its rally on Thursday despite the government's announcement that the country's economy grew by 7.2 percent last year. The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 28.65 points, or 0.47 percent, to 6,041.19, while the broader all-share index suffered 0.44 percent or 16.34 points to 3,675.92. Trading volume reached 1.44 billion shares worth 8.85 billion pesos (196.09 million U.S. dollars) with 109 stocks declining, 48 advancing, and 42 were unchanged. "Investors continue to strike a fair balance between domestic and global economic outlook, corporate earnings, and potential disruptions by geopolitical stirrings," analyst Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said in his daily stock market comment. Incidentally, the Philippines will be on holiday on Friday as the country celebrates the Chinese New Year. Calaycay noted that the season is traditionally a bullish period but the bourse failed to preserve its gains in recent weeks. "As events unfold, the market's narrative remains largely unchanged, from moderately bullish over the long term and just a tad more cautious over the near to medium term," Calaycay said. He added that the market continues to track the movement of its regional peers to close the week's trades with a 2.43-percent loss, snapping two consecutive weeks of gains. Calaycay said China's weak manufacturing numbers and the U.S. Federal Reserve's decision to cut its stimulus package are affecting sentiments globally. Stocks in the 30-company index were mostly down. These issues were heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., and Ayala Corp.