Ayala Land shares bring the sizzle to lackluster equities trading

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEI) recovered lost ground after bargain hunters snapped up Ayala Land Inc. and other index blue chips on Monday.

By the closing bell, the PSEi added 1.19 percent, or 73.52 points, to 6,268.78 while the broader All Shares index rose 0.73 percent, or 24.33 points, to 3,370.06.

Trading volume was sluggish with 521.88 million shares valued at P4.24 billion changing hands.

The property subindex, up 3.56 percent, outperformed other sectors after Ayala Land bounced more than 10 percent after touching a new 52-week low last week. Holding firms also gained 1.43 percent, followed by financials, up 0.14 percent and industrial, up 0.005 percent.

Mining and oil and services each declined 0.59 percent and 0.56 percent.

Luis Gerardo Limlingan, head of sales at stock brokerage house Regina Capital Development Corp., said local stocks could have echoed positive Wall Street sentiments “fueled by upbeat earnings, strong economic data and easing fears of a larger-than-expected interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve.”

“For this week, earnings releases could potentially set the tone for the equities market,” Limlingan said in a note to investors.

Ayala Land was the top traded stock as it jumped 10.2 percent to P24.85 per share.

It was followed by SM Investments Corp., up 0.77 percent to P781; Ayala Corp., up 4.17 percent to P599.50; International Container Terminal Services Inc., down 0.78 percent to P178; and Nickel Asia Corp., down 1.57 percent to P5.01 per share.

Other active names were SM Prime Holdings Inc., up 1.22 percent to P37.45; BDO Unibank Inc., up 0.25 percent to P121; Converge ICT Solutions Inc., flat at P20.25;

Universal Robina Corp., up 1.23 percent to P114.80; and Semirara Mining and Power Corp., down 0.39 percent to P37.95 per share.

Overall, there were 91 losers against 89 advancers while 55 companies closed unchanged, PSE data showed.

—Miguel R. Camus INQ