Share prices surge

Share prices surged Friday as investors welcomed an impending resolution of Greece’s fiscal crisis.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index jumped by 50.30 points, or 1.19 percent, to finish at 4,291.44 on news that Greece had agreed to the five-year austerity plan the European Union had set as a precondition for a bailout package.

All counters were up, led by the mining/oil counter, which surged by 3.4 percent. The property and services sectors were likewise up by over 1.1 percent.

The index was on an uptrend throughout the session, only encountering resistance when it neared the 4,300 mark.

Value turnover amounted to P4.69 billion. There were 85 advancers against 44 decliners, while 40 stocks were unchanged.

Aside from mining stocks, the stocks that gained on heavy volume were DMCI, Cebu Air, Aboitiz Power, Anglo Philippine Holdings, Ayala Land, Meralco, PLDT, Banco de Oro, EDC and ICTSI.

On the other hand, Metrobank, SM Investments, Globe Telecom, Jollibee, Metro Pacific Investments and SM Prime Holdings traded in the red, thereby curbing the PSEi’s gains.

Dealers said investors took heart from the favorable development in Greece.

Still, the Dow Jones Industrial Index was down by 59.76 points, or 0.49 percent.

Trading on Atlas Mining, which had risen sharply on heavy volume in the past two days, was suspended yesterday following an announcement that it was taking full control of Carmen Copper Mining.

The company had also mandated BDO Capital and Evercore to arrange a $368-million fund-raising in a mix of debt and capital issue.

With the suspension of Atlas, some investors shifted to affiliate Anglo Philippine as a proxy to the mining play on Atlas, which was rumored to be an acquisition target of new investors, including First Pacific-led Philex Mining.  Doris C. Dumlao