Philippine stocks rise anew over news of more imports in August

MANILA, Philippines—Local shares moved higher on Tuesday, buoyed by positive sentiment caused by a robust rise in imports for August, indicating strong local demand for products, while investors positioned themselves ahead of the release of third-quarter earnings reports.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) ended the trading session at 4,242.52, representing an increase of 41.44 points or 0.98 percent—marking the third consecutive day of gains for the main stock barometer.

“People are anticipating good earnings numbers so we’re seeing some buying now,” said a trader, but added that the outlook remained unclear for the coming days, given the uncertain debt situation in the eurozone. “We are still looking abroad for clues.”

Index heavyweight PLDT was the day’s most active stock, ending at P2,306 per share from the previous session’s P2,266. Metro Pacific Investments Corp. was the second most active, rising to P3.20 per share from P3.05 on news that it would infuse an additional P300 million in its hospital operating unit.

All sectoral indices moved higher, led by the mining and oil sector, which gained 1.3 percent, followed by the financial, holding firm and services sectors, all of which moved higher by at least 1 percent.

Trading volume was moderate, but was boosted by a P15-billion block sale of Meralco shares, with the total value coming in at P18.7 billion at the end of the session.

Advancers beat decliners handily, 93 to 54, while 29 stocks remained unchanged.