MANILA - Philippine share prices squeezed out marginal gains on Tuesday as the US government partially shut down after Congress failed to reach a deal to fund federal operations. At the Philippine Stock Exchange, the benchmark index inched up 6.04 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 6,197.84, tracking the modest advance of most Asian markets. Among the sub-indices, only the service and property counters finished in the green with gains of 0.45 percent and 0.35 percent, respectively. Market breadth was negative as decliners beat advancers, 84 to 57, while 41 issues were unchanged. A total of 1.53 billion stocks worth P7.88 billion changed hands. Actively traded stocks were Meralco, Alliance Global, Metrobank, Universal Robina and Ayala Land. Top gainers were Ginebra, Maybank and PAL, while the biggest losers were Keppel Properties, Keppel Holdings and Philex Petroleum. The US government began a partial shutdown for the first time in 17 years after US lawmakers missed the October 1 deadline to agree on the budget for the new fiscal year. The Republican-controlled House of Representatives was pushing for the delay of President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law by a year, while the Senate Democrats refused to do so. "Markets held on to the morning gains for a while, taking time to digest the latest development. Yet as the afternoon session progressed it became evident investors found the sidelines a more enticing place to ride out the uncertainty as to how long the shutdown will last," said Jun Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. The PSE index fell nearly three percent on Monday as investors braced for a US government shutdown amid a budget impasse. The main gauge jumped to a high of 0.96 percent in early Tuesday trades but succumbed to profit-taking in the afternoon session.
source: interaksyon.com