Index gets boost from window dressing

MANILA, Philippines - Month-end window dressing and buying momentum propelled the index back to the 6,200-point territory, analysts said.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index gained 0.63 percent or 38.86 points to 6,208.82, posting its third straight day in positive territory. The broader all shares index added 0.56 percent or 21.15 points to 3,776.73.

Freya B. Natividad, investment analyst at Papa Securities Corp., said the market recorded a technical rally from the intraday low of 6,103.82. It also benefited from window dressing, a move of investment houses to make stocks look more attractive for the monthly reporting period to clients.

“Since Thursday, there were a lot of positive news especially with the gross domestic product,” BPITrade.com director Richard Anthony Liboro said in a phone interview.

Liboro said there was also buying momentum on certain stocks that were oversold in the past days.

Wall Street was closed for Thanksgiving holiday while Asian stocks were mixed. Japan’s Nikkei 225 lost 0.41 percent or 65.25 points to 15,661.87 after hitting a six-year high while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.39 percent or 92.20 points to 23,881.29.

In the local scene, most counters were in the green, led by the service sector that climbed 1.25 percent or 23.66 points to 1,912.92. But mining and oil slipped 0.38 percent or 46.94 points to 12,268.50.

The value of shares traded improved to P10.18 billion from just P6.78 billion on Thursday. Advancers and decliners were tied at 77 each, while 42 stocks did not change.

Most active issues were gain led by the rally in PLDT (+2.26 percent) and SM Prime Holdings Inc. (+2.37 percent). However, conglomerates Alliance Global Group Inc. (-1.36 percent) and JG Summit Holdings Inc. (-0.38 percent) posted losses.