Stocks close higher despite weak overseas equities performance

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The stock market closed Tuesday's session positively despite the weakness in the overseas equities.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index rose by 0.55 percent or 40.64 points to 7,399, while the broader all-share index gained 0.42 percent or 18.03 points to 4,338.70.

Trading volume reached 2.15 billion shares worth P8.93 billion ($199.05 million) with 102 stocks advancing, 78 declining, and 44 remaining unchanged.

Of the six counters, only the property sector bucked the trend.

Analyst Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said in his daily stock market comment that he is attributing Tuesday's rally to the previous day's profit taking.

"The previous day's retreat provided enough rest for the local market as investors returned armed with liquidity and enough optimism to push the PSEI back above the 7,400-mark - a move that defied general trends in the region which mostly tracked the overnight performance of US stocks," he said.

While Dow Jones was down by 96 points, the index managed to touch an intra-day high of 7,428.92 before selling pressure set in.

"The PSEI picked up on the same level it closed Monday but headed north this time. Except for a slight, intermittent intra- day pullback that nevertheless kept the measure in positive territory, it was practically a 'one-direction' move," Calaycay said.

He noted however that closing at or above 7,400 remains a challenge and participation stayed low even as the bulls controlled the day.

Stocks in the 30-company index were mostly up. These include Ayala Land, Inc., heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., and Ayala Corp.