Bargain hunting keeps Phl bourse afloat

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Philippine Stock Exchange index closed lower on Friday but managed to end the week on a positive note due to bargain hunting.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index declined by 0.61 percent, or 36.33 points, to 5,947.93, while the broader all-share index lost 0.30 percent, or 10.92 points, to 3,647.91.

Trading volume reached 1.64 billion shares worth P4.24 billion ($95.73 million) with 80 stocks advancing, 61 declining, and 42 were unchanged.

"Philippine stocks made modest gains this week due to the seasonal January effect," Greg Ilag, an analyst of AB Capital Securities, Inc. said in his daily stock market comment.

On its first trading week in 2014, the PSEi gained 58.10 points or 0.99 percent week-on-week.

"The January effect refers to the bargain hunting of investors following their selling in December for tax purposes which consequently triggers the higher prices on the first trading days of January," Ilag said.

For next week, investors' sentiment will likely be driven by the release of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes for the month of December, the press conference of the European Central Bank and the reporting of the Non-Farm employment change in the United States.

On the local front, economic data scheduled for release next week include the November budget balance, November exports and December inflation.

Ilag said now that the PSEi is trading at 14.36x 2014 P/E compared to the peer median of 11.65x, investors can only expect modest returns for the index this year given higher valuation multiples and slower earnings' growth in 2014.

Stocks in the 30-company were mostly down. These include SM Investments Corp., Ayala Corp., and Alliance Global Group, Inc.