Philippine stocks rebound on selective bargain-hunting

Philippine Stocks Exchange index as of February 28, 2012 03:40:00 PM. HTTP://WWW.PSE.COM.PH

MANILA, Philippines—The local stock index closed in positive territory for the first time in three days on Tuesday as recent price declines attracted selective bargain-hunting.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index added 21.14 points, or 0.44 percent, to close at 4,820.43 even as oil price and eurozone concerns tempered sentiment across the region.

Trading was mixed for the day, with property and services benefiting most from bargain-hunting and respectively rebounding by 1.58 percent and 1.3 percent. The industrial counter likewise firmed up.

On the other hand, the financial, holding firms and mining/oil counters continued to trade in the red.

Dealers said some investors started to load up on equities after the sell-down seen in the last three days but appetite has been tempered by concerns on expensive market valuation compared to regional peers.

Value turnover amounted to P6.3 billion. There were 72 advancers, which were edged out by 92 decliners, while 33 stocks were unchanged.

In terms of specific stocks, EDC, Metrobank, AGI, PLDT, MPIC, Philex and ICTSI aided the PSEi’s rebound. Petron likewise rebounded after the sell-down in previous days.

On the other hand, BPI, Meralco, Aboitiz Power, SM Prime, Cebu Air, SM Investments and DMCI continued to trade with caution. There was likewise profit-taking on Union Bank, Dizon and PSE, which had seen steep price increases previously.

The offshore market, likewise, did not offer any incentive to load up aggressively. The closely watched Dow Jones industrial average dipped by 0.01 percent to close at 12,981.51 on Monday.