Selective buying continues to buoy market

MANILA, Philippines - Selective buying allowed the local stock barometer to rebound despite mixed performance of overseas markets and the World Bank’s cut in its global economic growth forecast.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index recovered 0.46 percent or 31.20 points to finish at 6,809.18, while the broader all shares index inched up 0.13 percent or 5.39 points to 4,076.01.

“It seems like market is still in a consolidation mode. But despite the drop in Asian markets given the World Bank’s downgrade, investors continue to pick up stocks that will perform well for the year,” Astro del Castillo, managing director of First Grade Finance Inc., said in a phone interview.

Del Castillo said the direction of the local bourse continued to be influenced by economic reports here and abroad.

The World Bank yesterday trimmed its 2014 global economic growth forecast to 2.8 percent from 3.2 percent announced in January amid slower growth in developed countries and geopolitical tensions.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.5 percent or 74.68 points to 15,069.48 but other regional indices like Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and Singapore’s Straits Times retreated.

Wall Street also ended mixed on Tuesday, snapping the string of record closing of the broad-based Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 index as the stock market took a breather.

The Dow Jones industrial average barely rose 0.02 percent or 2.82 points to a record high 16,945.92, while the broader S&P 500 fell 0.02 percent or 0.48 point to 1,950.79.