Index climbs for 8th straight day

MANILA, Philippines - Late buying reversed early losses in the local bourse, marking its eighth straight day in positive territory.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index gained up 0.35 percent or 21.45 points to 6,191.50, its highest closing since ending at 6,223.37 on Dec. 2. The broader all shares index improved 0.25 percent or 9.41 points to 3,748.77.

“There really is momentum despite pockets of profit taking,” Astro del Castillo, managing director of First Grade Finance Inc., said in a phone interview.

For Freya B. Natividad, investment analyst at Papa Securities Corp., foreign investors went back to the market amid numerous positive factors locally.

The main index flirted with an intraday low of 6,095.59 in the morning trades before recovering late in the session.

The local bourse again bucked the weakness in markets abroad. For instance, Wall Street retreated due to slowing growth in the manufacturing sector of world’s second largest economy China.

The Dow Jones Industrial average shed 1.07 percent or 175.99 points to 16,197.35 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index eased 0.89 percent or 16.4 points to 1,828.46.

Closer to home, Asian markets were in the red as investors were wary of the slowing Chinese economy. Japan’s Nikkei 225 dropped 1.94 percent or 304.33 points to 15,391.56.

Local counters were mixed, with mining and oil leading the gainers as it rose 1.42 percent or 198.30 points to 14,155.58. The service sector fell 0.82 percent or 15.79 points to 1,907.70.