Stocks inch up on bargain hunting

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine stock market opened the week on a positive note yesterday amid signs inflation could start to slow down.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Composite index (PSEi) closed at 6,737.84, up 38.18 points or 0.57 percent.

Likewise, the broader All Shares index gained 16.71 points or 0.47 percent to end at 3,580.87.

The gauges finished mostly in positive territory except for services and industrial. The rest ended in the green with holding firms and mining and oil among the biggest gainers.

“Philippine shares rose once again, starting another positive week as investors celebrated signs that inflation may be peaking,” Regina Capital said.

Active stocks were led by SM Investments Corp., which gained 2.02 percent to close at P860 per share; Converge ICT which was down 3.55 percent to P18.50 per share; Ayala Land Inc. which continued to recover, rising by 2.11 percent to P29.10 per share; Semirara Mining & Power Corp. which gained 3.65 percent to finish at P42.55 per share; Globe Telecom which gained 3.57 percent to P2,320 per share and Ayala Corp. which was up 2.32 percent to P750 per share.

Other active stocks were BDO which was up by 1.44 percent to P120 per share; SM Prime Holdings down by 0.91 percent to end at P38.10 percent per share; Jollibee Foods Corp. which gained 0.52 percent to end at P233.20 per share and Security Bank which rose 1.05 percent to close at P87 per share.

Total value turnover reached P5.49 billion. Market breadth was positive, 101 to 89 while 48 issues were unchanged.

Shares were mixed in Asia yesterday after China’s central bank cut a key interest rate and Japan reported its economy picked up momentum in the last quarter.

Tokyo and Sydney advanced while Hong Kong, Shanghai and Bangkok fell. US futures edged lower early while oil prices declined.

The People’s Bank of China cut its rate on a one-year loan to 2.75 percent from 2.85 percent and injected an extra 400 billion yuan ($60 billion) in lending markets after government data showed July factory output and retail sales weakened.