RP stocks drop on weak Wall St., oil price gains

MANILA, Philippines- Philippine share prices on Tuesday dropped sharply following Wall Street's overnight decline and huge gains in crude prices, analysts said. The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange dipped 33.84 points or 1.3428 percent to 2,486.29 while the all-share index slipped 17.91 points or 1.1259 percent to 1,572.81. Losers trounced gainers 65 to 25 while 53 stocks were unchanged. Volume traded reached 1.234 billion valued at about P2.444 billion. Francis Liboro, PCCI Securities president, said throughout the session, the bourse declined, although there were pockets of bargain-hunting. “Wall Street dove because of oil prices which have previously stabilized," he said. The Dow Jones industrials shed 372 points as investors worried that the $700-billion rescue plan that the Bush administration drew up will prove to be a heavy burden to American taxpayers. Oil prices also rose $25 and then settled to $120.92 a barrel. Telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. plunged P30 or 1.1429 percent to P2,595. Holding company Ayala Corp. plummeted P5 or 1.6949 percent to P290. Property giant Ayala Land Inc. lost P0.40 or 4.1237 percent at P9.30. Geothermal power producer PNOC-Energy Development Corp. climbed P0.05 or 1.6129 percent to P3.15. Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., the largest lender in terms of assets, tumbled P1 or 2.8986 percent to P33.50. GMANews.TV