Market manages to end week in positive territory

MANILA, Philippines - Local stocks ended the week in positive territory despite the drag caused by top-traded Universal Robina Corp. (URC), as investors take positions ahead of the earnings season.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index inched up 0.04 percent or 2.83 points to 6,390.48, while the broader all shares index added 0.31 percent or 12.04 points to 3,854.36.

“The PSEi showed it can easily regain the 6,300 handle, even making an attempt at 6,400, “ said Justino Calaycay Jr., an analyst at Accord Capital Equities Corp.

Investors took note of recent price drops as buying opportunities heading into the earnings cycle, Calaycay said.

However, gains were cut by the correction in share price of URC, which has been the top-traded stock in the past few days. The snacks giant retreated 4.88 percent to P117 apiece after parent firm JG Summit Holdings Inc. sold P12 billion worth of URC shares at P115 each.

Despite the flat closing, the local bourse bucked the decline in Wall Street that was hurt by the continuing US government shutdown. The Dow Jones industrial average shed 0.9 percent or 136.66 points to 14,996.48 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 0.9 percent or 15.21 points to 1,678.66.

Most counters were in the green, led by financial firms that gained 0.81 percent or 12.65 points to 1,581.74. Losers were led by industrial companies that eased 0.28 percent or 26.15 points to 9,311.15.