Stocks end higher

Local stocks firmed up Tuesday, tracking a regional upswing fueled by improved manufacturing data across the globe.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange added 22.11 points or 0.36 percent to close at 6,083.91.

The upswing was led by the property counter, which gained 1.26 percent, while the financial, holding firm and services counters also ended in positive territory. The industrial and mining/oil counters, on the other hand, were in negative territory.

Value turnover for the day was thin at P5.15 billion. There were 81 advancers against 57 decliners while 50 stocks were unchanged.

The day’s biggest index gainers were AEV, SM Prime and ICTSI, which all advanced more than 3 percent, while DMCI, Petron and Belle climbed over 2 percent. Megaworld, Bloomberry and BPI also ended higher.

The PSEi’s gains were tempered by the decline in Aboitiz Power (-2.58 percent), Alliance Global (-1.5 percent) and JG Summit (-1.35 percent).  Semirara, SM, EDC, BDO, Philex, Meralco and PLDT also closed lower.

The “ghost month,” the period when a lot of Oriental investors refrain from making big-ticket investments, ends today.

Across the region, stock markets were mostly higher on indication that factory output from China to the United Kingdom is improving. Markets moved higher ahead of the release of US manufacturing data, which analysts expect to likewise show an improvement. Doris C. Dumlao