Roundup: Philippine bourse closes lower following U.S. equities drop

The Philippine stock market dropped largely following the huge drop of the U.S. equities.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 0.58 percent or 45.57 points to 7,873.64, while the broader all-share index retreated by 0.23 percent or 10.25 points to 4,541.98.

Trading volume reached 802 million shares worth 8.40 billion Philippine pesos (188.88 million U.S. dollars) with 99 stocks declining, 82 advancing, and 50 were unchanged.

Of the six counters, only the mining and oil sector bucked the trend.

"Share prices snapped a two-day advance, posting its first loss of the month, as positive leads dried up while those impelling an opposite reaction surfaced," analyst Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said in his daily stock market comment.

U.S. stocks stumbled anew overnight as investors digested reports the country's trade deficit widened to the most in seven years.

Dow Jones industrial average index shed off 142.20 points on Tuesday's trading, while Asian stocks were at two-week lows.

Calaycay said while the local market may seem to have lost the momentum, it might soon bounce back as companies start reporting their earnings.

While the external headwinds will continue to give its share of influence on investors, especially the release of the economic data in the U.S., fund managers might have started to discount these already.

"The index may make yet another attempt at the 7900 mark as shown by Tuesday's performance," Calaycay said.

Stocks in the 30-company index closed mixed. Among those sold down were the Bank of Philippine Islands, heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., and Alliance Global Group, Inc. Endi