Shares recover 14 pts on technical rebound

After a four-day skid, local stocks picked up appeal anew as investors downplayed the weakness in the US and Asian markets -- along with a falling peso -- to accumulate selected issues on follow-through buying.

The main index avoided plunging below the 1400-mark to eke out a modest one percent or 14.12 point gain, ending at 1418.79. The All-Share index -- representing the basket of stocks outside the 30-issue Phisix -- likewise nudged up 11.09 points or 1.87 percent to 606.02.

The commercial-industrial, financial services and property counters made advances while the second-line mining and oil stocks continue to drop. A total of 46 stocks ended at higher prices, as against 43 declining issues and 31 non-movers.

The value of trades improved to P1.266 billion from P1.144 billion the previous day.

Leading the uptick were telecom giant PLDT and power retailer Meralco's B shares, which advanced P35 to P740 and P3 to P59, respectively. PLDT stocks also advanced in Wall Street.

Other notable gainers were Internet stock PhilWeb.com, property and gaming firm Belle Corp. and its subsidiary APC Group. The companies yesterday said the long-standing conflict between them and their respective officials "has been amicably resolved."

The feud started during Belle's stockholders meeting in June last year, when the group associated with stockbroker Willy Ocier and Benito Tan Guat successfully ousted the bloc of former Trade Minister Roberto Ongpin from the board.

PhilWeb shares closed half a centavo higher to 14 centavos; Belle stocks moved up eight centavos to P1.08; APC ended 15 percent more to 47 centavos; while Belle warrants, the top gainer for the day, advanced 45 percent to 16 centavos.

Shares of mall operators Ayala Land and SM Prime, which were recent victims in the spate of bombings in the metropolis, moved in different directions, correcting from their previous day's performance. ALI advanced 10 centavos to P4.25 while SM Prime dropped five centavos to P4.55.

Canadian insurers Manulife and Sun Life continue to buoy the market, moving in parallel with their gains in New York. Manulife closed P35 higher at P720 while its counterpart closed P25 more to P615. Manulife will be giving out a C$0.10 cash dividend to all stockholders effective July 7.