Philippine stocks extend losses Tuesday on concerns over US

The Philippine stock market extended its losses on Tuesday as most investors are still wary of the developments overseas. The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index dived by 1.33 percent or 89.91 points to 6,673.47. The broader all-share index lost 1.17 percent or 48.76 points to 4,128.11. Trading volume reached 1.77 billion shares worth 13.25 billion pesos (315.25 million U.S. dollars) with 123 stocks declining, 53 advancing, and 41 unchanged. All six counters were down. Brokerage 2TradeAsia.com said the successive sell-off has pushed away bargain hunters from local equities, many of whom are waiting for the selling spree to taper off. "Prospective institutional bargain shoppers might bid for time, until the potential unwinding of earlier overbought positions from some overseas managed funds ceases," 2TradeAsia.com said. The composite index tumbled following the announcement by U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that they might cut stimulus if they start seeing indications of sustained growth. The brokerage said the latest descent has opened room for some investors to consider this as good technical entry to ramp-up on large-caps that quickly recovers once pessimism abates. The bargain hunters are slowly manifesting their presence in Tuesday's trade, where investors saw the index climb back after losing more than 100 points during the session. 2TradeAsia.com advises investors to check for potential momentum build-up especially after the local index's successive declines. Stocks in the 30-company index were mostly down. These issues include SM Investments Corp., SM Prime Holdings, Inc., and heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.