Jollibee, Ayala Land lead local stock market rebound

Photo from pse.com.ph

MANILA, Philippines—The local stock index rebounded on Friday on the back of selective buying amid a string of global uncertainties.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index regained 24.46 points or 0.45 percent to close at 5,439.28 led by the property (+0.94 percent) and industrial (+0.76 percent) counters.  This developed as some investors took advantage of the previous day’s pullback to pick up selected stocks.

The day’s best performers among PSEi stocks were Jollibee (+4.27 percent), ALI (+2.24 percent), FGen (+1.97 percent), Globe (+1.95 percent), EDC (+1.62 percent), JG Summit (+1.19 percent) and AC (+1.03 percent). Meralco, PLDT, Metrobank, BDO, SMIC, AGI and BPI also contributed to the day’s gains.

By counter, only the mining/oil sector ended in negative territory for the day, in turn weighed down by Philex Mining (-3.43 percent).  DMCI, URC, Megaworld and SMC also ended in the red.

Turnover amounted to P5.98 billion.

There were 75 advancers versus 74 decliners while 52 stocks were unchanged.

For the week, the main index was 0.5 percent lower as the climb to new record highs  triggered some profit-taking.

Across the region, trading was mixed due to concerns over the “fiscal cliff” in the US,  a situation in which a number of  tax incentives are due to expire, leading to cuts in budget spending and deficits that could in turn heighten the risk of recession.