Stocks end 2-day slide; PSEi up 0.36%

LOCAL STOCKS rebounded Friday from a two-day slump, boosted by the favorable US retail and jobs data that likewise invigorated global markets.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index rose 15.62 points or 0.36 percent to finish at 4,391.46.

All counters ended in positive territory except for holding firms whose sub-index was still in the red. There were 81 advancers that edged out 59 decliners while 37 stocks were unchanged.

Value turnover was heavy at P9.96 billion, buoyed by an equity transaction on Metro Pacific Investment Corp. (MPIC). Outside of the block sales on MPI, value turnover amounted to P5.8 billion.

MPIC, the day’s most actively traded stock, fell as shares followed the pricing of a private placement via a top-up offering. MPIC sold 2.4 billion shares at P3.60 each in a share placement managed by CLSA Ltd. and JP Morgan Securities Ltd.

There was P3.44 billion in net foreign selling for the day, likewise aided by the MPIC private placement.

On the other hand, San Miguel Corp. still led the day’s gainers. The index stocks that lifted the market were First Holdings, Energy Development Corp., Metrobank, SM Investments, First Gen, SM Prime, Megaworld, Alliance Global, PLDT, Aboitiz Power and Lepanto “A” (open only to local investors). Non-index stocks Atlas, Empire East and Manila Water also surged in active trade.

Overnight, the Dow Jones industrial index rallied 93.47 points or 0.74 percent to 12,719.49. This developed after US retailers posted their best June sales results since 1999 as fair weather and attractive discounts shored up consumer spending. At the same time, the number of people who made first-time claims for unemployment benefits dropped last week to a seven-week low of 418,000—a sign that job cuts were declining.