Roundup: Philippine bourse closes higher following rise of equities overseas

The Philippine stock market opened the week positively on Monday following the movement of the Asian equities.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index added 0.20 percent or 14.25 points to 7,112.89, while the broader all-share index gained 0.19 percent or 7.76 points to 4,103.52.

A total of 993.67 million shares were exchanged hands worth 8.39 billion pesos (179.69 million U.S. dollars) with 90 stocks advancing, 94 declining, and 34 were unchanged.

Three of the six counters bucked the trend. These were financials, industrial, and the holding firm sectors.

"Inspired by similar surges in bourses across the wide Asia Pacific and the Oceania region, local stocks started off with a run that propelled the measure past the 7200- line inside the first half-hour en route to a 95-point gain at mid-day," analyst Justino Calaycay of A&A Securities, Inc. said in his daily stock market comment.

Fortunes however slightly changed from that point onwards as the bears chipped away at the gains. As the final bell sounded, only 14 points remained.

"Investors'confidence are being propped up by relatively better, improved numbers off the earnings mill and foddered by an easing of external headwinds that leads to slight improvement in the over-all outlook," he said.

Calaycay however added that the market is still not out of the woods as the usual problems are still present.

Stocks in the 30-company index ended mixed. Investors picked up shares of index heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and Ayala Land, Inc. but sold down shares of BDO Unibank, Inc. Endit