Philippine stocks rise on PLDT surge

MANILA, Philippines—Local stocks moved higher on Monday on the back of strong gains by telecom giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index gained 47.13 points, or 0.92 percent, to close at 5,167.20.  This developed as index heavyweight PLDT jumped by 4.88 percent, or P122, to P2,624, which some dealers said might be due to the resurgence of a dividend play.

Most counters trekked higher except for the property sub-index. The biggest gains were posted by the services (+3.07 percent) and mining/oil counters (+1.08 percent). The sharp gain by services was due to PLDT’s rise.

On the other hand, the market is anticipating a mining executive order by Malacañang that will be acceptable to investors.

Value turnover amounted to P5.63 billion. There were 87 advancers, which outnumbered 61 decliners, while 46 stocks were unchanged.

Joseph Roxas, president of the Eagle Equities Inc., said the market might consolidate a bit before re-testing the 5,200 resistance.

In its daily commentary, Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. said: “As the end of the month and of the 2nd quarter approaches, there may also be some window-dressing in the market that could provide for trading opportunities.”

Besides PLDT, other index gainers were AGI, SMIC, Metrobank, First Gen, DMCI, Philex, BPI, Globe, MPI, MWC and AP.

Also among the notable gainers was Bloomberry Resorts (+5.58 percent), which expressed optimism on the gaming industry on Monday. FPH and Dizon likewise gained in heavy trade.

On the other hand, Megaworld, AEV, ICTSI, ALI and AC bucked the day’s upswing.