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Friday, February 24, 2006
Stocks fall on coup fears, state of emergency (1:55 p.m.)
MANILA -- Philippine stocks fell Friday, spooked by the heightened worries of a coup attempt that led President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to place the country under a state of emergency, traders said.
"The market's decline today was a result of a knee-jerk reaction," said Citiseconline investment analyst Mark Alan Canizares.
The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index fell 21.39 points, or 1 percent, to 2069.93, after rising 1.1 percent Thursday.
Analysts noted that the selloff wasn't as bad as earlier anticipated, which may indicate that investors remain generally upbeat for the medium term.
"We were expecting an extreme decline. If there was really panic selling, the market would have gone down deeper," said DA Market Securities President Nestor Aguila.
Ayala Corp. gave up three percent to P322.50 and unit Ayala Land dropped 2.3 percent to P10.75. Globe Telecom fell 1.8 percent to P840, and Petron lost 2.2 percent to P4.50.
Bargain hunting in select stocks helped trim the market's losses. Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., the most actively traded stock, added 0.6 percent to P1,775 on 152,740 shares traded.
All sectoral indicators retreated. Decliners led gainers 99 to six, while 26 stocks were unchanged.
Looking ahead, Aguila said "There's uncertainty in the market right now given the declaration of a state of emergency. Investors will just have to get a feel of the market for awhile."(AP)
Police scuffle with anti-government demonstrators (12:10 p.m.)
Arroyo declares state of emergency
Security tight amid spiraling coup rumors (11:26 a.m.)
State of emergency eyed by Palace (9:13 a.m.)
Marine Colonel denies supporting pending coup (8:45 a.m.)
'Pending coup' launched v. Arroyo )
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