Shares close 0.4 percent on bargain-hunting

MANILA (AFP) - Philippine share prices closed 0.4 percent higher Thursday as bargain-hunters sought out blue chips following heavy losses earlier this week, dealers said.

A modest rebound on Wall Street also helped lift the market.

The composite index rose 14.17 points to 3,659.68 after trading between 3,641.31 to 3,666.29 points. The broader all-share index added 3.90 points t 2,372.42.

Despite the headline index gain, declines led gains 59 to 51, with 55 stocks unchanged.

Volume was 5.5 billion shares worth 7.1 billion pesos (157.3 million dollars.)

The peso was at 45.138 to the dollar.
"We had a technical bounce influenced by the rebound in the US market but investor confidence remains shaky following the big drop on Wall Street earlier this week," said Rommel Macapagal of Westlink Global Equities.

"Today's modest gains (following a 1.6 percent drop on Wednesday) indicate there is still indecisiveness in the market," he warned.

Worries about home lending in the United States and Manila's fiscal prospects following weak tax collections in the first half of the year weighed on investor sentiment, dealers said.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone, the biggest company by market value, rose 15 pesos to 2,660 pesos, snapping a five-day retreat.

Meralco' A shares, which are limited to Filipinos, rose two pesos to 102 pesos. Its B shares, which have no ownership restriction, jumped three pesos to 105 pesos.

The nation's largest power distributor announced during trading hours that its net profit for the second quarter jumped 62 percent year-on-year to 1.81 billion pesos.

Petron Corp advanced 20 centavos to 6.40 pesos after its results.
San Miguel Corp. A shares were flat at 74 pesos while its B shares fell two pesos to 76 pesos.