Market climbs 18 pts on last-minute bargain hunting

Share prices closed 0.87 percent higher yesterday on last-minute bargain hunting in select stocks, dealers said.

The composite index rose 18.39 points at its day-high of 2,121.76 after touching a low of 2,100.72. The broader all-shares index gained 11.48 points at 1,028.91.

Volume reached 608.1 million shares worth 1.4 billion. Losers slightly outnumbered gainers 44 to 36, while 46 stocks were unchanged.

"The market remains on a consolidation range although the bias has turned positive. Investors are expecting a recovery in share prices after last week’s correction," said Astro del Castillo of First Grade Holdings.

Last week, the main index shed 1.27 percent as investors took profits following the market’s rise to one-month highs.

"Chart-wise, the recent pullback towards the 2,100 levels is viewed as a mere technical correction. We expect the market to try the 2,150 levels," added Jonathan Ravelas at Banco de Oro Universal Bank.

SM Investments was top-traded. It closed up P3 at P217 while unit SM Prime Holdings retreated 10 centavos to P7.60.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone led the main index’s rally, closing P35 higher at P1,835, tracking the rise of its American Depositary Receipts in New York Friday.

Metropolitan Bank Trust rose P2 to P39, while rival Bank of the Philippine Islands was steady at P59.

Ayala Land gained 25 centavos to P11 after its unit Cebu Holdings said it will expand the Ayala Center shopping and entertainment complex in the central province of Cebu.

Cebu Holdings finished up four centavos at P1.78.

A shares of San Miguel closed flat at P61.50 while San Miguel B was unchanged at P80.

Philex Mining B rose 8.3 percent to P2.08 after reporting a turnaround in 2005 earnings that beat the estimate of a Thomson Financials survey.

Buying activity, however, wasn’t broadly based, with 44 decliners and 36 gainers. There were 46 stocks unchanged.

"What’s happening to the market is purely consolidation, which is due to a mixture of lack of news and continued uncertainty and tension on the political scene," said PCCI Securities president Francisco Liboro. "News on the economic side is favorable, and that’s keeping investor sentiment positive despite the political problems."

The market is expected to remain in consolidation during the next session, said Liboro. – AFP, AP