Index gains 4 points on bargain hunting in select issues

Share prices rose yesterday as investors picked up blue chips, mainly telecommunications stocks, after three days of losses.

The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index rose 3.75 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,945.82, after the main index retreated 2.1 percent in the last three sessions.

The broader All Shares Index slipped 0.19 point to 1,182.30, after retreating Friday 12.91 points to 1,182.49.

Traders said news of bombings in Bali over the weekend and reports of destabilization plots against the government of President Arroyo have pushed many investors to the sidelines, capping the market’s gain.

"The Bali bombing added to the uneasiness of the market," said Astro del Castillo, managing director at First Grade Holdings. "The overwhelming domestic concern remains (political) stability."

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and Globe Telecom, the country’s top telecommunications companies, accounted for nearly half of Monday’s transaction value.

PLDT advanced 0.3 percent to P1,690, tracking its American depositary receipts that advanced 0.3 percent in New York Friday. Globe Telecom followed suit, rising 1.3 percent to P755.

Erwin Balita, analyst at AB Capital Securities, said the recent hike in domestic interest rates, worries over economic growth and political concerns were robbing the market of legs to sustain a rally.

BSP Governor Amando Tetangco Jr. said after the market closed that inflation during the month probably slowed to 6.6 percent, its lowest in more than a year on cheaper food and oil compared with August.

Lower inflation may give the BSP more room to keep its key interest rate unchanged, encouraging borrowing, spending and investment, and spurring economic growth.

Digital Telecommunications Philippines Inc., which runs the nation’s third-largest mobile phone network, gained one centavo, or 1.1 percent, to P96.

The company’s mobile unit, Digital Mobile Philippines Inc. on Friday sought a license to offer third-generation mobile-phone services, which will allow users to transmit data and video and access the Internet 100 times faster than older networks.

Shares worth P514 million were traded, less than half the six-month daily average and the smallest since May 26. One stock rose for each that fell, with 49 unchanged. – AP