PH stock prices maintain uptrend

MANILA, Philippines – (UPDATE) Local stock prices moved up for a third straight session on Friday to close the week in positive territory as investors picked up shares of blue-chip companies and selected second-liners.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index added 16.68 points or 0.39 percent to finish at 4,251.64. The run-up in prices the last three days allowed the index to end the week with slim gains over the 4,241.01 finish on Friday last week.

All counters were up, especially mining/oil, which outperformed others with its 2.43 percent jump, except the property counter, which was slightly down.

The stocks that lifted the PSEi were those of PLDT, SM Investments, Lepanto Mining, DMCI, Metrobank, Ayala Corp., Filinvest Land, Ayala Land and Metro Pacific Investments. Non-index stocks Vista Land, Nickel Asia and Security Bank also gained on heavy trade.

PLDT, which has a 14.32 percent weight on the PSEi, crept up by 0.43 percent to P2,350 each.

On the other hand, EDC, Semirara, Lopez Holdings, PNB, AEV, First Gen and PSE succumbed to profit-taking.

Turnover amounted to P4.64 billion.

There were 77 advancers against 50 decliners, while the prices of 40 stocks remained unchanged.