Taking cue from Wall Street rally, PH market and entire Asian pack charge ahead

Philippine stocks were up on Thursday, moving in lockstep with the rest of the region, which was buoyed by gains in Wall Street overnight.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) was up 0.43 percent, or 33.83 points, to 7,871.65 by the end of the session. The broader All Shares index was also up 0.47 percent to 4,693.39.

Like the previous trading day, volume was relatively low. A total of 1.06 billion shares valued at P6.5 billion changed hands. There were 103 companies that gained against 84 that declined, while 53 closed unchanged.

Subindices were also mixed, with services jumping 3.26 percent higher while property was up 1.04 percent. The industrial subsector led losers with a 0.34 percent drop, followed by holding firms, down 0.18 percent and financials and mining and oil, which each lost 0.10 percent.

Ayala Land Inc. was the most actively traded on Thursday, as it gained 2.44 percent to P39.90 per share.

On its heels: GT Capital Holdings, up 1.27 percent to P1,200; Ayala Corp., down 0.34 percent to P867; Universal Robina Corp., down 1.76 percent to P167; and PLDT Inc., up 6.38 percent to P1,718 per share.