RP stock index continues slide despite Wall Street gain

 (NIKKA CORSINO, GMANews.TV)

Local share prices continued to plummet on Tuesday, even as Wall Street posted a slight gain overnight as momentum shifted in favor of the reappointment of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index dropped by 0.41 percent or 12.26 points to close at 2,955.7 despite a 24-point rise in the Dow Jones industrial index overnight. The all-share index slid by 0.1 percent or 1.78 points to 1,887.25.

"US banks are starting to collapse. Investors are getting pessimistic on the stability of the market," analyst Emmanuel Soller or Equitiworld Securities, Inc. said in an interview.

Since the bulk of the funds in the local stock market are from overseas investors, a possible collapse of some US banks would surely affect local equities, he pointed out.

US President Barack Obama's plan to limit banks' size and risky trading has spooked investors, but analysts say it would have only little effect on big institutions like JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America and Citigroup.Click here to read more...