Taal lull brings relief to anxious stock market

The stock barometer firmed up Friday as surface activity in the Taal Volcano appeared to have calmed a bit.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) added 69.4 points or 0.91 percent to close at 7,722.58.

Joseph Roxas, president of Eagle Equities, said investors were relieved that Taal was in a lull, albeit still on a high alert.

Roxas said the prospect of consumer price pressures as a result of the natural disaster has been a big concern for investors in the last few days. At the same time, there were worries about the prospective impact on real estate market in the affected areas, including Tagaytay, which is a major tourist destination.

All counters ended higher, led by financial, industrial and mining/oil, which all gained over 1 percent.

Total value turnover for the day amounted to P6.27 billion. Domestic investors mostly supported the market, countering net foreign selling worth P196 million.

There were 99 advancers edging out 77 decliners, while 53 stocks remained unchanged.

The PSEi was led higher by Jollibee, which surged by 6.27 percent. The fast-food giant was able to boost its war chest by $600 million from an issuance of perpetual securities that are eligible as capital.

BPI and URC both rose by over 2 percent, while Ayala Land, BDO and Ayala Corp. all gained over 1 percent.

Notable gainers outside the PSEi included electronics manufacturer Cirtek Holdings, which surged by 7.83 percent at a relatively heavy volume. It was the day’s second most actively traded stock.

Fruitas Holdings, the last company to list on the local stock exchange last year, surged by 9.52 percent to close at P1.61 per share. The stock price is moving closer to its initial public offering price of P1.68 per share.