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MANILA, Philippines — Most local stocks trekked higher for a second session on Thursday on upbeat US stock markets and optimism over local first quarter earnings.
The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index added 13.13 points or 0.18 percent to close at 7,194.43.
Investors, however, turned more selective in taking position as the index was moving closer to the all-time peak of 7,284.34 last hit on May 6.
Modest gains eked out by the financial, holding firms, services and property counters supported the index. On the other hand, the industrial and mining/oil counters tempered the day’s gains.
Total value for the day was thin at P6.68 billion. There were 83 advancers versus 66 decliners while 71 stocks were unchanged.
The day’s most actively traded stock was Metrobank (+0.31 percent) which reported a record-high first quarter net profit of P11.4 billion, making it the most profitable Philippine bank for the period. Parent firm GT Capital, though not part of the PSEi, likewise surged by 2.68 percent in heavy volume.
PLDT, SMIC, ALI, Jollibee, Bloomberry, BDO, ICTSI, DMCI, Megaworld, ALI and EDC also contributed to the day’s gains.
On the other hand, the index laggers were FGEN, Belle, MWC, SMC, Petron, RLC, Philex, AC, AEV and MPI.