Index climbs on technical correction

MANILA, Philippines - Technical correction allowed local stocks to slightly recover from Thursday’s selldown, but the main index remained at a year-to-date loss.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index inched up 0.08 percent or 4.60 points to 5,767.13, while the broader all shares index slightly rose 0.09 percent or 3.28 points to 3,542.76.

 It was the fourth time this year that the main index closed below the end-2012 level of 5,812.73.

“There was bargain hunting among blue chips but decliners were still more than the advancers,” Abbygayle Estrella, equities analyst at AB Capital Securities Inc., said in a phone interview.

Estrella said the bellwether index was down early in the session because of better-than-expected retail sales data in the US, boosting the chance that US Federal Reserve will start tightening its monetary policy.

Freya B. Natividad, investment analyst at Papa Securities Corp., said the 5,700 territory proved to be a major support level for the local bourse.

Economic recovery in the US prompted Wall Street to decline anew, with the Dow Jones Industrial average dropping 0.66 percent or 104.10 points to 15,739.43 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index lost 0.38 percent or 6.72 points to 1,775.50.

Asian stocks firmed up as the yen fell, boosting the earnings of export-oriented Japan. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 0.12 percent or 27.84 points to 23,245.96 while Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.4 percent or 61.29 points to 15,403.11.

In the local scene, most counters were in the red, paced by property firms that shed 0.88 percent or 19.02 points to 2,154.06. But holding firms recovered 0.85 percent or 44.87 points to 5,327.85.