Local stock index regains lost ground

MANILA, Philippines — The Local stock index crawled back to positive territory Monday after a two-day slump, tracking mostly buoyant regional markets.

The Philippine Stock Exchange recouped 32.6 points or 0.46 percent to close at 7,083.49, again moving closer to the 7,100 mark. Across the region, stock markets were mostly higher as investors waited to see if China would adopt additional economic stimuli.

The day’s gains were led by the industrial and holding firms. The mining/oil and property indices were also firmer.

The services counter, on the other hand, slipped by 1.08 percent, weighed down by PLDT which fell by 3.07 percent. The telecom giant succumbed to profit-taking after a sharp rise in the last few weeks driven by its higher weight in the MSCI. The rebalancing has taken effect after the end of August’s last trading day.

EDC, likewise one of the local market’s top gainers for the month of August, also fell by 2.2 percent.

On the other hand, the PSEi’s upswing was led by Globe Telecom (+5.06 percent) as some investors switched to this other telecom play after pocketing gains from PLDT.

GTCAP also aided the index with its 3.19 percent rise. Semirara, SMIC, DMCI, Megaworld, URC and Jollibee all gained by 2 percent while JG Summit and AP also contributed to the day’s gains, both rising by over 1 percent.

AEV and ICTSI also contributed to the day’s gains.

Outside of the main index, Nickel Asia gained by 0.76 percent in heavy trade. D&L surged by 5 percent after announcing a plan to consolidate with Chemrez Technologies.

Meanwhile, AGI, BDO, ALI and Metro Pacific closed lower on Monday.

Last week, the government reported a second quarter growth rate of 6.4 percent, beating the consensus growth forecast of 6.1 percent.

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