Follow-through buying buoys share prices

Share prices closed 0.31 percent higher yesterday on follow-through buying and bargain-hunting among second-liners, dealers said.

They said momentum was likely to be sustained this week on expectations of stronger corporate results, after the market reopened following the Easter break.

The composite index added 10.19 points to 3,304.42 after trading between 3,306.05 to 3,289.15. The broader all-share index edged up 10.69 points to 2,110.57.

Gainers beat losers 69 to 32, while 59 stocks were unchanged. Volume amounted to 5.3 billion shares worth P4.25 billion.

"There was a good dose of buying in second liners given that we had a strong rally last week," said Chelsea Dipasupil of RCBC Securities Inc.

The market is likely to continue its uptrend on the back of sound economic fundamentals, and on expectations of stronger results from select blue-chips which will announce their earnings results later this week, said Ron Rodrigo of Unicapital Securities Inc.

"What is important is that the buying sentiment outweighs the selling side. It shows that the market may be on its way to a moderate bull run," said Rodrigo.

Gainers included property developer Megaworld Corp., which rose 30 centavos to P3.95 and oil refiner Petron Corp. which advanced 30 centavos at P5.10.

SM Investments Corp. gained P7.50 to P370.

Megaworld, one of the country’s two largest builders of residential and office towers, jumped 30 centavos, or 8.2 percent, to P3.95, its highest since Aug. 23, 1996. The stock has surged 13 percent since it reported April 3 that its profit grew 75 percent to a 10-year high in 2006.

Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. (Metrobank), climbed P1, or 1.6 percent, to P64.50.

Limiting yesterday’s Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and Ayala Land Inc. led the decline among some of the biggest companies in the stock market as some investors shifted to stocks that have faster earnings growth, according to Astro del Castillo, managing director of First Grade Holding Inc., a financial management and advisory company in Manila.

"Some funds are being funneled out of those with big capitalization into the mid caps which are expected to show stronger growth in earnings,’’ Del Castillo said. — AFP