Philippine stocks up on selective buying

Photo from pse.com.ph

MANILA, Philippines—The local stocks index firmed up on Thursday after a weak opening on the back of selective buying of large-cap stocks.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index closed 9.42 points, or 0.17 percent, higher at 5,446.71.  The index reversed early session losses on the back of hefty gains posted by Banco de Oro (+4.15 percent) and ALI (+4.04 percent).

BDO share price was boosted by an ongoing realignment of shares within the Sy family into designated holding firms. For its part, ALI attracted strong interest on the back of strong nine-month earnings.

First Gen, Megaworld, ICTSI and JG Summit also contributed to the day’s gains.

On the other hand, the PSEi laggers were SM Development, Meralco, AGI, URC, DMCI, Metrobank, Manila Water, Petron, Globe and Belle. PLDT also continued to trade with caution ahead of a public hearing on the compliance framework on foreign equity limits in the aftermath of a recent Supreme Court ruling.

Outside the PSEi, APM was an outperformer for the day, rising by 18.45 percent as the company explained the proposed change in par value. FPH (+1.34 percent) likewise gained in heavy volume.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P6.46 billion. Despite the modest PSEi gain, overall market was mostly sluggish as there were only 51 advancers versus 99 decliners.