Index manages to buck regional downtrend

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine share prices managed to rise yesterday despite the downtrend seen in markets abroad.

The country’s benchmark stock index improved 0.09 percent or 7.40 percent to finish at 7,836.34 while the broader all shares index also enjoyed a 0.13 percent gain at 4,532.56.

“Traders checked for policy guidance from the local central bank’s meeting, specifically on forward indications of whether changes might be considered in the coming months,” said  Grace Cerdenia, research head at F Yap Securities.

“Several looked into preliminary corporate earnings indication, as some scouted for stocks that have good demand prospects for the second quarter,” Cerdenia added.

The Philippine market once again showed resiliency yesterday in the face of weak markets abroad.

Most Asian stocks fell as they followed overnight declines on Wall Street, led by the Dow and the S&P 500 which loss 0.6 percent each.

Local counters were mixed at three apiece. Mining and oil firms led the counters which finished in the red while financial companies climbed the highest with a 0.78 percent gain.

Market breadth was positive as advancers edged out decliners, 95 to 79, while 50 stocks did not change.

Value turnover grew yesterday to P10.19 billion with nearly two billion stocks changing hands.