PH shares up on rosy Q3 GDP

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) rose on Thursday after the government said the economy expanded faster than expected during the third quarter of the year.

The PSEi rose 0.6 percent, or 47.93 points, to 8,073.81 while the broader all-shares index increased 0.38 percent, or 18.41 points, to 4,822.77.

This came as the Philippine economy grew 6.2 percent during the third quarter, faster than the consensus expectation of 6-percent growth.

Subsectors on Thursday closed mixed, with property leading gains at 1.28 percent, followed by holding firms, up 0.81 percent, and financials, up 0.36 percent.

Industrial firms sank 0.93 percent followed by mining and oil, down 0.19 percent.

Trading volume was relatively thin with total of 474.5 million shares valued at P5.12 billion changing hands.

There were 93 advancers versus 81 decliners while 61 firms closed unchanged.

SM Investments Corp. was the most actively traded on Thursday as it gained 1.23 percent to P1,070 a share.

It was followed by Ayala Land Inc., unchanged at P47; SM Prime Holdings Inc., up 3.09 percent to P40; Universal Robina Corp., down 2.9 percent to P150.50; and Metropolitan Bank & Trust, up 0.15 percent to P67.65 per share.