Index continues climb for 3rd straight day

MANILA, Philippines - Strong local fundamentals and positive regional news carried the bellwether index past the 6,600 mark for the first time since August.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index gained for the third straight day, rising 0.72 percent or 46.95 points to settle at 6,607.83 yesterday. It is the highest point for the main index since closing at 6,656.61 on Aug. 14.

“It’s hard to find an excuse not to buy from the local market given local fundamentals and continued optimism in the global markets,” Astro del Castillo, managing director of First Grade Finance Inc., said in a phone interview.

Freya B. Natividad, investment analyst at Papa Securities Corp., said the boost came from investors’ positive reactions to the US debt ceiling agreement.

Asian markets were mixed after the world’s second-largest economy China reported a 7.8-percent growth in gross domestic product in the third quarter. It is the fastest quarterly uptick for China this year.

Analysts said the growth brought positive signal to investors.

In the local bourse, all counters, save for property firms that fell 0.16 percent or 4.03 points to 2,593.24, were in the green. The gainers were led by the service sector that added 0.99 percent or 19.73 points to 2,016.72.

The value of shares traded slightly dropped to P8.04 billion from P8.24 billion on Thursday. Advancers outpaced decliners, 89 to 63, while 37 stocks did not change.

Most active shares closed higher, led by index heavyweight PLDT (+0.14 percent). Diversified conglomerate San Miguel Corp. rallied 6.52 percent after announcing a property dividend.