Index continues climb on strong buying interest

MANILA, Philippines - Strong trading activity and the assurance of gradual US Federal Reserve tapering shielded the main index from profit taking, allowing it to close in the green for the sixth straight day.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index improved 0.10 percent or 6.28 points to 6,112.31, while the broader all shares index slipped 0.19 percent or 7.21 points to 3,703.10.

“The market had high volume (turnover) and there were lots of buying interest,” Miguel A. Agarao, an analyst at Wealth Securities Inc., said in a phone interview.

The value of shares traded jumped to P7.87 billion from P6.83 billion on Tuesday, with foreigners returning to the local bourse marked by a net foreign buying of P744.53 million.

While some investors booked profits, the strong buying activity supported share prices yesterday, Agarao said.

On Tuesday, Wall Street gained anew, buoyed by the assurance of new US Fed chair Janet Yellen that the tapering will remain at $10 billion per month.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 1.22 percent or 192.98 points to 15,994.77 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 1.11 percent or 19.91 points to 1,819.75.

Agarao said the market expects tapering to continue but investors welcomed news that the pullout of the monetary stimulus will be gradual.

Locally, counters were mixed, with the industrial sector leading the gainers as it rose 0.68 percent or 61.29 points to 9,038.06. But the property sector retreated 1.03 percent or 23.99 points to 2,298.35.

Decliners outpaced advancers, 83 to 63, while 48 stocks did not change.