Market gains as investors chase stocks with strong profits

Share prices closed 0.76 percent higher yesterday as investors chased stocks of companies expected to report strong profits for the three months to September, dealers said.

Oversold stocks were also favorites, they added.

The Philippine Stock Exchange composite index added 14.80 points to 1,964.22, the day’s high and off a low of 1,949.42. Turnover was 313.19 million shares worth P1.24 billion.

The broader all-shares index gained 8.33 points to 1,190.20.

Gainers beat losers 42 to 20, with 46 stocks unchanged.

Dealers said foreign investors have of late been gradually accumulating stocks with robust earnings prospects, taking advantage of low prices and lingering political concerns that have kept most Filipino players on the sidelines.

"Most technical indicators suggest the market is ripe for bargain-hunting which is what foreign fund managers have slowly been doing," said Ron Rodrigo of Accord Capital Equities.

Exchange records show that between Sept. 16 and Oct. 10 foreign investors were net buyers of equities here worth some P3 billion.

"Foreign players have been picking up stocks quietly, as if not wanting to be noticed," Rodrigo added.

Dealers said the peso’s strength against the dollar and Monday’s decline in yields of short-term government paper may also have boosted sentiment toward the equities market.

The prospect of rising interest rates had dampened enthusiasm for stocks in recent sessions because a further tightening in the central bank’s monetary policy is likely to make fixed-income securities more attractive that equities.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) was the market’s main mover, ending up P30 to 1,695.

SM Investments advanced P3 to P220, while unit SM Prime Holdings gained 20 centavos to P7.50.

Ayala Corp. ended down P5 at P287.50, while Ayala Land was unchanged at P8.60.

JG Summit Holdings Inc. (JGS PM) rose 10 centavos, or 2.7 percent, to P3.85. The stock has gained 10 percent since its Oct. 5 announcement that it raised its stake in Singapore landlord United Industrial Corp. to 30 percent and offered to buy the rest of the company.

International Container Terminal Services Inc. (ICT PM) climbed to a record after The Philippine Star reported, citing Chairman Enrique Razon, it would seek Australian port contracts. International Container, which operates ports in the Philippines, Brazil, Poland and Japan, climbed 30 centavos, or 3.3 percent, to P9.30. Spokeswoman Narlene Soriano didn’t immediately return calls seeking her comment on the report. – AFP