Index returns above 6,700 on bargain hunting

MANILA, Philippines - Local stocks recovered yesterday with the benchmark index returning above the 6,700 level.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index rose 62.75 points or 0.94 percent to 6,710.40 from last Friday’s close of 6,647.65.

Joseph Roxas, head of Eagle Equities said the market was up yesterday because investors had already factored in last week’s news on economic growth.

“The market had already absorbed the news of lower-than-expected GDP (gross domestic product) growth,” Roxas said.

Last week, the PSEi retreated 2.4 percent or 163.68 points to finish at 6,647.65, marking the third straight weekly decline as investors sold their stocks after the government released first quarter economic growth data, which showed GDP expansion slower at 5.7 percent in the first quarter of the year.

Roxas said the market already recovered from this news with some bargain hunting already prevalent in yesterday’s trade.

Advancers beat decliners, 105 to 62, while 47 issues were unchanged. Value turnover amounted to P7.03 billion as 874.002 million shares changed hands.

All counters were in positive territory, led by services, which gained 1.47 percent; followed by industrials, up 0.97 percent; and holding firms, up 0.84 percent.

Most actively traded stocks were Security Bank, Ayala Land, BPI and SM Investments. Top gainers were Integrated Micro-Electronics, APC and IP-eGAME, while the biggest losers were Unioil, Philippine Savings Bank and Philex Petroleum.