MPIC delisting buoys local bourse

MANILA  -Philippine stocks were mostly higher on Tuesday as trading volume surged mainly due to the block sale of Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) before it was suspended from trading.

By the closing bell, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose 1.48 percent, or 91.10 points, to 6,263.94 while the broader All Shares index climbed 1.09 percent, or 36.23 points, to 3,361.38.

A total of 6.4 billion shares valued at P35.16 billion changed hands while net foreign selling jumped to P15.2 billion.

Activity was driven by the P28.4-billion block sale of Metro Pacific, which is in the midst of going private and whose shares were suspended from trading on Tuesday.

Metro Pacific will also be removed from the 30-member PSEi on Wednesday and will be replaced by Century Pacific Food Inc.

All PSE subsectors closed in the green, led by property (+1.61 percent), financials (+1.60 percent), and holding firms (+1.54 percent).

Century Pacific was also top traded stock on Tuesday as it slipped 1.35 percent to P29.30 per share.

It was followed by BDO Unibank Inc., up 2.11 percent to P135.80; Ayala Land Inc., up 3.69 percent to P29.50; SM Prime Holdings Inc., up 1.17 percent to P30.35; and Aboitiz Power Corp., up 2.80 percent to P33 per share.