Stock index gains 56.48 pts

The local stock barometer Thursday firmed up as regional markets were perked up by the rebound in oil prices, which traded closer to $46 per barrel.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index added 56.48 points or 0.78 percent to close at 7,257.85. Investors were encouraged by the rally in oil prices, which was driven by a pronouncement from Iraq that a new round of talks on oil price stabilization/production freeze might be pursued as early as next month.

At the local market, the day’s gains were led by the property counter which was up by 1.38 percent.  The financial, holding firm, services and mining/oil counters also gained. Only the industrial sub-index slipped.

Value turnover for the day hit P6.52 billion.  There were 105 advancers, 83 decliners while 48 stocks were unchanged.

ALI led the PSEi higher with a 2.94-percent gain while AC, Metrobank, JG Summit and Megaworld all advanced by over 1 percent.  SMIC, SM Prime, BDO, GTCAP, AEV and AP all firmed up.

Outside of the PSEi, one notable gainer was NOW, which rallied by 21.51 percent and was the most heavily traded company in the market. NOW has been rising in the last few weeks on the back of its shift to broadband play.

Retailer RRHI also gained 0.69 percent. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla