Roundup: Philippine stocks rally on Pope visit

The Philippine stock market rallied back to the 7,400 level on Wednesday ahead of the visit of Pope Francis.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Market jumped by 1.24 percent or 91.88 points to 7,490.88, while the broader all-share index rose by 0.87 percent or 37.55 points to 4,376.25.

Trading volume reached 1.85 billion shares worth 13.45 billion pesos (301.53 million U.S. dollars) with 97 stocks advancing, 87 declining, and 47 were unchanged.

Of the six counters, only the mining and oil sectors retreated.

"As investors struggle with the question of whether 2015 will see an extension of the six-year bull or will introduce the stirrings of the bear, the market's movements through the first seven sessions have tilted the balance towards the former," analyst Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said in his daily stock market comment.

The analyst however warned that while the recent rally might provide some near-term encouragement, value turnover, except for Wednesday, has dropped back below the 10 billion pesos mark.

This, Calaycay said, suggests that there remains some underlying weakness in the technical condition, even as, admittedly, the recent run has eased some of the negativity.

"The index, absent any major market moving developments both here and abroad, will continue to attempt a convincing break of the 7,400-line," Calaycay said.

He advised investors to remain cautious.

Stocks in the 30-company index were mostly up, including SM Investments Corp., Ayala Land, Inc., and Megaworld Corp. Endi