Last-minute buying lifts market

MANILA, Philippines —  A late surge in buying activity propelled local stocks to a positive finish yesterday, snapping the market’s two-day decline.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index inched up by 0.23 percent or 14.85 points to close the session at 6,511.57.

The broader All Shares index also improved marginally by 0.20 percent or 7.44 points, settling at 3,757.29.

“Philippine shares traded in the red for most of the session before closing slightly higher to finish above the 6,500 mark again,” Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital said.

Limlingan said that US stocks closed mixed as US Federal Reserve minutes highlighted heightened inflation risks, dampening hopes for significant rate cuts this year.

“According to the latest minutes of the FOMC’s (Federal Open Market Committee) December meeting, the committee indicated it was at or near the point at which it would be appropriate to slow the pace of policy easing,” he said.

Net value turnover thinned to P3.5 billion from the previous day’s P4.4 billion.

Most indexes capped off the session in the green, led by holding firms which jumped by 0.56 percent.

Mining & oil and financials, meanwhile, were down by 0.76 percent and 0.44 percent, respectively.

Market breadth was negative as decliners routed advancers, 108 to 99, while 39 shares did not change.

SM Investments was yesterday’s top traded company, increasing by 0.51 percent to P885 per share, followed by BDO, which slipped by 0.75 percent to P145.90.

Shares of ABS-CBN Corp. plunged by 9.46 percent to P5.84 after surging by 27.47 percent to P6.45 on Wednesday after a bill aimed at renewing the media giant’s franchise was filed in the House of Representatives.