MANILA, Philippines ? Local stocks drifted lower for the second straight session on Friday as investors scrambled to lock in gains from the strong run-up early in the week.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index shed 24.95 points or 0.72 percent to close at 3,442.68.

Although gains were pared down in the last two days, the index was still up by 1.4 percent for the week due to the rally in the first few days.

The index was weighed down most by the holding firms, property and mining/oil counters which were all down by over 1 percent. Value turnover was average at P3.1 billion.

There were 38 advancers, which were overwhelmed by 70 decliners while 54 stocks were unchanged.

Investors sold down shares of Ayala Land Inc., Aboitiz Power Corp., Energy Development Corp., Manila Water Co., Megaworld Corp., Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., SM Prime Holdings Inc., First Gen Corp., DMCI Holdings Inc. and First Philippine Holdings Corp.

Among the few that bucked the downtrend were Aboitiz Equity Ventures, Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc., Philippine National Bank and Globe Telecom.

On the other hand, shares of Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., Universal Robina Corp. and Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc. were unchanged.

There was little incentive from the overseas markets as trading in Wall Street was likewise sluggish overnight. The Dow Jones Industrial Index was down by 7.41 points or 0.07 percent to 10,359.31.