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|  | Wednesday, November 18, 2009 | MANILA, PHILIPPINES Market IntelligenceBY KRISTINE JANE R. LIU, Reporter Main index climbs up on Meralco buyingTHE MANILA Electric Co. (Meralco) pushed up share prices yesterday even as investors continued to dump Philex Mining Corp. The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 0.68% or 20.73 points to 3,032.09, while the all shares index rose by 0.66% or 12.59 points to 1,899.07.
A total of 2.73 billion shares worth P3.6 billion were traded with foreign buying rising to P163 million.
“Although trades in [Meralco] were not heavy, it was the biggest gainer among the index issues, contributing 15.64 points to today’s gains,” AB Capital Securities, Inc. said.
The power distributor gained 8.16% or P16 to close at P212. It was also among the 20 most actively traded issues yesterday.
Meralco has figured in the news for much of this year, with diversifying San Miguel Corp., the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) and Metro Pacific Investments Corp. jostling for a stake in the company.
From a low of P59.50 each at the start of the year, shares of Meralco had risen to as high P300 per share before correcting lower. The market continues to keep a close watch on the power distributor, which is currently in the midst of a brewing legal battle.
Shares of Philex fell for the third time yesterday to settle at P14 apiece, 1.75% or 25 centavos lower. The mining company was also behind the local market’s decline on Monday, after pushing the PSEi \xE2\x80” along with Meralco \xE2\x80” past the 3,000 mark last week.
Jun B. Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said yesterday’s rebound showed that the market could comfortably stay within the 3,000 level.
“[The US market’s good opening [also trickled] down to local investors who found support [in the performance of the foreign market] to hold [on] at [the market’s] current support [level],” he added.
US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s statement that low interest rate environment would likely prevail pushed up US stocks on Monday. The US also reported that retail sales rose by 1.4% in October, higher than expectations.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up by 1.33% or 136.49 points to 10,406.96, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 1.45% or 15.82 points to 1,109.30.
The Nasdaq composite index also added 1.38% or 29.97 points to 2,197.85.
At home, industrial issues jumped by 3.16% or 139.27 points to 4,539.08, while financials rose by 0.87% or 5.79 points to 671.20.
Property stocks added 0.58% or 6.71 points to 1,145.33, while holding firms climbed by 0.09% or 1.52 points to 1,624.42.
Mining and oil shares, meanwhile, tumbled by 1.32% or 135.06 points to 10,080.88, while the service sector slipped by 0.61% or 9.21 points to 1,479.81.
Blue chips closed mixed.
Metro Pacific rose by 7.41% or 20 centavos to P2.90.
Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. gained 2.29% or a peso to P44.50, while Andrew Tan-led Megaworld Corp. rose by 1.26% or two centavos to P1.60.
Century Peak Metals Holdings Corp. fell 6.90% or 40 centavos to P5.40, while index heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. fell by 0.39% or P10 to P2,540.
The Bank of the Philippine Islands and Banco de Oro Unibank, Inc. remained at P48 and P38.50, respectively.
Likewise, Ayala Land, Inc. stayed at P12 apiece. Back to top |
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