RP stock index extends rally, bucks Wall Street dip

Local share prices extended their rally in anemic trade on Monday as investors hunted for bargains, bucking Wall Street's decline last Friday. The Philippine Stock Exchange index went up by 0.46 percent or 13.59 points to 2,963.24, with only one of the six subindices declining. In its weekly outlook brokerage 2TradeAsia said several listed stocks are at their oversold levels, "and markets have the ability to bounce fast once the sentiment shakeup abates." "Go for sectors that present maximum upsides for growth (e.g., utilities, energy and holdings) and opt for modest gains on rallies," it said. The Dow Jones industrial average retreated by 45.05 points to 10,099.14 last Friday, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped by 2.96 points to 1,075.51 in the absence of a clear plan to rescue Greece from a debt crisis. Analysts earlier expect lethargic trading this week as fund managers go on their extended Chinese Lunar New Year break. China and Taiwan are on a weeklong holiday this week, while fund managers in Singapore and Hong Kong will be out for vacation until Tuesday. "The mood might also be capped by Wall Street’s renewed weakness, following investors’ weak reaction to China’s unexpected move to raise the reserve requirement, as well as the euro’s weakness on lack of clarity how regulators in Europe would facilitate their assistance [to] Greece," 2TradeAsia said. However, the drop might be limited as investors buy stocks in emerging markets given their underlying strength, the brokerage said. During Monday's trading, gainers beat losers 56 to 43, while 60 stocks were unchanged. Volume was thin at 667.9 million stocks worth P2.12 billion. Mining and oil stocks surged by 2.23 percent or 214.67 points to 9,833.72, while industrial firms went up by 1.37 percent or 61.74 points to 4,561.68. Holding firms also gained 1.08 percent or 17.79 points to 1,670.04, while services were up by 0.14 percent or 2.05 points to 1,481.8. Financial stocks likewise added 0.04 percent or 0.27 point to 621.36. Property companies bucked the trend, sliding by 1.82 percent or 18.26 points to close at 984.11. The most active stock, Universal Robina Corp., gained P1.75 to P20, while SM Investments Corp. inched up by P7.50 to P360. Dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) gained P5 to P2,535, while IPVG Corp. added 48 centavos to P2.42. On the other hand, Ayala Corp. lost P2.50 to P275, while unit Globe Telecom, Inc.lost P5 to P995. Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp. were unchanged at P40.50 and P2.75, respectively. — Norman P. Aquino, GMANews.TV