Stocks climb on blue chip buying, higher global equities

MANILA, Philippines - Local stocks rose for a fifth straight day as investors gobbled up blue chip issues on a flurry of higher corporate earnings, as well as strong performances of global equities, traders said yesterday.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) added another 40.07 points (0.92 percent) to end at 4,372.70, while the broader all-shares index went up 28.29 points (0.93 percent) to 3,056.29.

Market breadth was positive with advancers outnumbering decliners, 94 to 56, while 47 issues were unchanged. Trading was also more active than in recent days with a total of P5.48 billion worth of stocks changing hands.

“The market has noticeably had a more optimistic feel in the past few trading days as blue chips have performed better,” said Prince Anthony A. Yeung of AB Capital Securities.

Among the top performing index heavyweights were PLDT (up 2.68 percent to P2,300), ICTSI (up 3.90 percent to P56) and Banco de Oro (up 2.87 percent to P60.90).

But Yeung said while the PSEi has been strong lately, “expect the market to move flat to lower (today) due to a lack of catalysts.”

“Earnings reports, which have been strong market movers, are almost over and the market may move sideways without them.”

Around Asia, stock markets mostly inched higher after a round of corporate deals on Wall St. lifted sentiment following last week’s gyrations.

The Dow Jones Industrial rose for the third day in a row Monday, closing up 1.9 percent at 11,482.90. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 2.2 percent to 1,204.49.

Technology shares got a boost on news that Google is buying wireless phone maker Motorola Mobility for $12.5 billion in cash — the largest deal ever for Google. The Google announcement, along with several other acquisitions announced in the US on Monday, helped restore confidence in risky assets because such deals are interpreted as a sign that companies are more confident about the future.– AP