Technical rebound boosts share prices

MANILA, Philippines - A technical rebound lifted share prices yesterday, allowing the bellwether index to claw back to the 7,300 as it snapped a three-day skid.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rebounded 0.72 percent or 52.20 points to 7,327.58, while the broader all shares index gained 0.38 percent or 16.90 points to 4,506.74.

“Technical rebound for yesterday following corrections of the PSEi in prior sessions,” Freya Natividad, analyst at online brokerage firm 2TradeAsia.com.

The local market bucked the trend in Wall Street, which closed lower as investors opted to stay on the sidelines ahead of more information regarding the Federal Reserve’s economic stimulus program.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 0.1 percent or 19.12 points to 15,335.28 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index shed 0.1 percent or 1.18 points to 1,666.29.

Locally, most subindices were in the green, led by property firms that rallied 1.94 percent or 57.89 points to 3,047.63 while mining and oil was again a laggard, falling 0.8 percent or 140.88 points to 17,453.59.

Decliners outplayed advancers, 100 to 70, while 49 stocks did not change.

Natividad said there was no good news to push share prices higher, with investors opting to cash in on recent gains.

Turnover value improved to P9.72 billion from P8.72 billion on Tuesday.

Top-traded Ayala Land Inc. rallied 2.75 percent or 95 centavos to P35.50 given news that the Securities and Exchange Commission already finalized its foreign ownership cap rules.