Index climbs on corporate income reports

MANILA, Philippines - Share prices rose yesterday, boosted largely by a  slew of first half corporate earnings reports and the continued easing of geopolitical tensions abroad.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index gained 0.39 percent or 26.83 points to 6,983.49, marking its second day in the positive territory, while the broader all shares index rose 0.28 percent or 11.64 points to 4,175.32.

“The Philippine market advanced yesterday as international catalysts weighed less in world markets and allowed investors to focus on earnings,” said Gab Aguila of DA Market Securities.

For instance, companies like Metro Pacific Investments Corp., Filinvest Land Inc. and Security Bank Corp. reported their first half results yesterday.

The day’s advance almost tipped to test the 7,000-mark with a high of 6,998.20 before selling pressure came into play, Aguila said.

On Monday, Wall Street further climbed anew following reports that Russia sent 280 humanitarian aid trucks filled with food, medicine and water to Ukraine, a development that eased tensions in the area.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.10 percent or 16.05 points to close at 16,569.98, while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index improved 0.28 percent or 5.33 points to 1,936.92.

Asian investors welcomed the optimism in global markets. Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.20 percent or 30.79 points to 15,161.31.

At home, all counters closed higher, paced anew by the property sector that climbed one percent or 26.08 points to 2,639.78.

But the value of shares that changed hands declined to P6.17 billion from P9.88 billion on Monday. Advancers barely outpaced decliners, 88 to 87, while 56 stocks did not change.

Most active stocks ended in the green, led by index heavyweight PLDT (+1.17 percent) while property giant Ayala Land Inc. (+2.09 percent) and BDO Unibank Inc. (+0.06 percent) posted gains. But Universal Robina Corp. (-0.67 percent) and SM Investments Corp. (-0.13 percent) ended in the red.