Local stocks track upswing in regional markets

Most local stocks on Tuesday extended their gains, as the index neared the 7,000 mark, riding on a regional upswing driven by easing geopolitical jitters.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index added 26.83 points, or 0.39 percent, to close at 6,983.49, tracking the upswing in most other markets in the region.

All counters ended up. The biggest gainer was the property counter (+1 percent) led by ALI (+2.09 percent), which reported a 25-percent growth in first semester profit to P7.1 billion.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P6.17 billion. There were 88 advancers against 87 decliners, while 56 stocks were unchanged. The day’s most actively traded stock was PLDT (+1.17 percent), followed by ALI. MPI, which reported an 18 percent year-on-year rise in six-month profit to P4.6 billion, rose by 1.39 percent.

On the other hand, Megaworld (-1.8 percent) succumbed to profit-taking, along with URC, SMIC, AGI, Globe and GTCAP. RRHI and Puregold also slipped yesterday. Doris C. Dumlao