Philippine stocks bounce back

MANILA, Philippines—Most local stock prices came out of a three-day slump on Thursday as investors took heart from signs of US economic growth in September and started picking up bargains.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index went up by 1.76 percent, or 67.39 points, to finish at 3,890.52 as all counters gained ground. The recovery was led by the holding firm and mining/oil sub-indices, which surged by 3.4 percent and 3 percent, respectively.

Turnover totaled P4.3 billion.

There were nearly three gainers for every single decliner for the day.

Bargain-hunters were emboldened by the second day of Wall Street run-up. On Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Index gained 131.24 points, or 1.2 percent, to 10,939.95. Investors rejoiced at signs that the US economy, widely feared to be on the brink of another recession, had expanded in September.

Justino Calaycay Jr., a dealer at Accord Capital Equities Corp., said smart money “should stay on the prowl for fundamental bargains, adopt a long-term outlook and utilize a cost-averaging trading strategy to weather this storm and position for above-average returns moving forward.”

The index was led higher by Metro Pacific Investments, PLDT, AGI, DMCI, Megaworld, Metrobank, ALI, ICTSI, SM Investments, BDO, Aboitiz Power, EDC, Manila Water and Ayala Corp. Lepanto A (for local investors) and B (for both local and foreign investors) also gained in heavy trade.

On the other hand, BPI and Security Bank traded lower. Newly listed Puregold fell for the second day after listing, ending 2.9 percent lower at P10.68 per share.