Last-minute buying props up market

MANILA, Philippines — Last-minute buying from investors helped the local stock market finish in positive territory in its return from a two-day holiday break.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index eked out a 0.06-percent or 4.11-point increase, closing at 6,539.02.

The broader All Shares index also inched up by 0.12 percent or 4.55 points to settle at 3,731.78.

Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital said that the local bourse edged higher as investors positioned themselves ahead of the final trading session of the year.

The market was in the red for the most part of yesterday’s session before last-minute bargain hunting lifted it to a positive close.

Trading, however, was tepid as total value turnover stood at P2.8 billion.

Most counters managed to end on the win column, led by property, which rose by 0.87 percent.

The only losers were the services and holding firms, which dropped by 0.43 percent and 0.40 percent, respectively.

Market breadth was positive as advancers crushed decliners, 122 to 57, while 53 issues were unchanged.

ICTSI and SM Investments were the top traded companies, both losing by two percent each to P390 and P882 per share, respectively.

URC, meanwhile, surged by six percent to P79.50, while San Miguel plunged by 6.45 percent to P82.