At the Philippine Stock Exchange, the local barometer dropped 115.58 points or 1.90 percent to finish at 5,968.33. The PSE index (PSEi) shed as much as 2.4 percent in early trade.
All counters shed at least a percent each led by the holding firm sub-index with a decline of 2.29 percent. There were three losers for every gainer, while 48 issues were unchanged. A total of 976.52 million shares worth P6 billion changed hands.
Most actively traded stocks were SM Investments, PLDT, Ayala Corp, Ayala Land and GT Capital. Top advancers were iRipple, Maybank ATR and Century Properties, while the biggest losers were ATN B, Medco and RFM.
"Renewed concerns in the Middle East and the strengthening dollar scared off the investors," said Astro del Castillo, managing director of First Grade Finance Inc.
"Moving forward, the concerns now will be the inflationary effect towards growth especially if the US will pursue such attack on Syria. It will possibly impede global growth," del Castillo said.
Coming off the Labor Day public holiday, US stocks closed higher following the release of favorable economic reports on manufacturing and construction spending, but trimmed gains after key US Congressional leaders, including House Speaker John Boehner, backed President Barack Obama's call for military action against Syria.
The US had condemned Syria’s chemical attack that killed nearly 1,500 people in Damascus.
Overnight, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 23.65 points or 0.16 percent, to 14,833.96.
source: interaksyon.com
