Philippine stocks gain modestly on selective buying

MANILA, Philippines—The local stock index opened the week in positive territory, gaining modestly on the back of selective buying.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index gained 6.63 points, or 0.13 percent, to close at 5,163.09.

Some stock dealers said investors who had profited from the recent initial public offering of GT Capital, which listed on the stock market on Friday, were eager to find new opportunities.

Trading was mixed across counters, with the industrial, holding firms, mining/oil and property firming up, while the financial and services counters ended in the red.

Despite the overall index gain, the broader market closed lower. As such, there were only 66 advancers, which were edged out by 88 decliners while 51 stocks were unchanged.  Value turnover amounted to P5 billion.

Among the stocks that contributed to the PSEi’s rise were Megaworld (+3.9 percent); SM Investments (+1.69 percent) and DMCI Holdings (+1.9 percent). SM Prime, ICTSI, AC and BPI also ended higher. Among the non-index stocks, Vista Land gained sharply (+6.9 percent).

On the other hand, the PSEi’s gains were tempered by the share-price decline of Metrobank, AGI, URC, PLDT, AP and AEV.

Bloomberry and Security Bank were among the non-index stocks that declined in heavy trade. In particular, Bloomberry shares fell by another 12.8 percent to P13.08 per share amid a $200-million equity offering that would be priced between P6 and P9 per share.