Philippine stocks firm up at end of trading week

https://www2.pse.com.ph/ photo

MANILA, Philippines—The local stock market firmed up on selective buying on Friday while regional markets continued to trade with caution given the lingering turmoil in the eurozone.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index added 21.75 points, or 0.44 percent, to close at 4,925.97.

For the week, the PSEi firmed up by 46.55 points or 0.9 percent as investors remained wary of the fiscal woes in the eurozone.

Meanwhile, analysts said weak data on Chinese lending may indeed lead to faster implementation of China’s economic pump-priming.

Sentiment was mixed for the day, with the financial, industrial, holding firms and property counters keeping the market afloat. On the other hand, the service and mining/oil counters dipped.

Value turnover was relatively thin at P4.98 billion. There were 77 advancers which slightly edged out 71 decliners while 42 stocks were unchanged.
The main index was supported by the gains of Metrobank, URC, ALI, AC, BDO, FGen, Philex and SMC.
Non-index stocks FPH, PXP and Security Bank likewise traded higher on Friday.

On the other hand, the PSEi was weighed down by the losses of SMIC, PLDT, Megaworld, AGI, ICTSI and MPI.

Overnight, the closely watched Dow Jones Industrial index also stabilized by 33.6 points, or 0.27 percent, to end at 12,529.75.