Philippine share prices post slight gain

Local share prices slightly gained on Tuesday, even as Wall Street seesawed overnight ahead of the quarterly earnings reporting period. The Philippine Stock Exchange index went up by 0.59 percent or 18.27 points to 3,105.62, while all shares added 0.21 percent or 4.17 points to 1,949.12. Volume inched up a bit to 1.77 billion stocks worth P3.05 billion. Gainers and losers were tied at 53, while 61 stocks were steady. Five of the six subindices went up, led by industrial stocks' 1-percent or 46.48-point gain. The service index also added 0.64 percent or 9.93 points, while mining and oil companies were up by 0.57 percent or 58.95 points to close at 10,406.75. Property stocks likewise gained 0.31 percent or 3.34 points to 1,083.04, while the financial index added 0.07 percent or 0.48 point to 671.92. Holding firms bucked the trend, losing 0.06 percent or 0.96 point to finish at 1,631.26. On Monday night, US stocks seesawed as investors eyed a weak dollar, higher commodity prices and a sell-off in technology shares. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.4 percent or 46 points, while the S&P 500 index added or 0.2 percent or 2 points. The Nasdaq composite, on the other hand, lost or 0.2 percent or 5 points. — GMANews.TV