Stock index up ahead of Christmas break
MANILA, Philippines — The local stock index went higher on Monday ahead of a two-day Christmas break, aided by window-dressing activities as the market entered the final stretch of 2013.
The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index gained 19.75 points or 0.34 percent to close at 5,854.88 in thin selective trade ahead of the holiday break. The day’s gain was in line with the upswing in most markets in the region which in turn tracked robust Wall Street sentiment on Friday.
The PSEi’s rise was led by the financial counter, which surged by 1.48 percent on gains posted by top three players BPI, BDO and Metrobank.
The mining/oil and property counters likewise registered gains, making up for the slack by holding firms and services.
Turnover amounted to P5.26 billion. Many trading participants had already gone on extended holiday breaks through the New Year turnover.
Despite the overall rise, market breadth was negative as 69 advancers were edged out by 86 decliners.
The day’s top gainers were BPI (+3.03 percent), followed by EDC, Semirara, URC, RLC and BDO which all rose by over 2 percent. DMCI, AP and Metrobank were up by over 1 percent.
On the other hand, the day’s laggers were FGEN, SMC, AEV, Megaworld, AC, Jollibee, JGS, ALI, Petron and Bloomberry.
Dealers were expecting the market to trade with an upward bias this week in line with the seasonal Santa Claus rally.
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