Philippine market rebounds as investors pick up blue chips

Screen grab of Philippine Stock Exchange index as of January 31, 2012 03:40:00 PM from pse.com.ph

MANILA, Philippines—The local stock market rebounded on Tuesday, as yield-seeking investors picked up selective blue chips, especially among property firms and conglomerates.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index recouped 37.95 points, or 0.82 percent, to finish at 4,682.44 on Tuesday.

Except for services, all counters ended in positive territory, especially the property and holding firms whose counters respectively surged by 1.73 percent and 1.29 percent.  The industrial counter was likewise 1 percent higher.

Value turnover amounted to P16.16 billion, which included a block sale worth P8.85 billion on Meralco, representing the 2.66 percent additional stake sold by the Lopezes to the group of businessman Manuel V. Pangilinan.

There were 109 advancers that overwhelmed 57 decliners while 39 stocks were unchanged.

The AC, DMCI, SM Prime, Globe Telecom, Jollibee, SM Investments, Megaworld, URC, Meralco, BPI, MPIC, BDO, AP and SMC led the index higher.  NiHao was likewise up in heavy trade.

On the other hand, the PSEi’s gains were tempered by the share price decline in EDC, PLDT, Metrobank, First Gen and ALI.

EDC has fallen sharply since Monday on news of delays in the rehabilitation of its BacMan power plant.  Its shares were down by another 1 percent to close at P5.60 on Tuesday.