Roundup: Philippine bourse closes lower on net foreign selling

The Philippine stock market opened the week further down on lack of positive leads.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index retreated by 0. 56 percent or 41.81 points to 7,484.89, while the broader all- share index tumbled by 0.47 percent or 20.53 points to 4,320.34.

Trading volume reached 518 million shares worth 5.33 billion Philippine pesos (117.81 million U.S. dollars) with 97 stocks declining, 64 advancing and 46 were unchanged.

All six counters were down, led by the mining and oil sector.

Online brokerage 2TradeAsia.com said players remain alert on the continuity of net foreign selling in Monday's trades, especially after U.S. payrolls hit 280,000 in May against April's 221,000.

"The latest data might support expectations of sooner-than- expected interest rate increase this year," 2TradeAsia.com said.

The Dow Jones industrial average index shed off 0.31 percent or 56.12 points on Friday's session, while most Asian equities slipped after China reported a disappointing imports.

This raised concerns that the world's second largest economy might be slowing down.

"Wait until gauges stabilize. Immediate support is 7,500, secondary at 7,470, while resistance is seen at 7,540," the online brokerage advises.

Stocks in the 30-company index were mostly down. These include Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., Alliance Global Group, Inc. and Ayala Corp. Endi