RP stocks track Wall Street’s lackluster performance

Local share prices continued their lackluster performance in mid-week trade, tracking Wall Street’s steady movement overnight. Local stocks rose by 0.4 percent or 12.28 points to 3,119.63, while the broader all-share index added 0.91 point or less than 0.1 percent to 1,955.37. “There was really nothing significant about the market’s movement today. It merely mirrored the US market. But the market is quite strong, although we may observe some cautiousness on the part of investors," analyst Jasper Jimenez of Banco De Oro Securities said in an interview. He added that the market’s flat movement would prevail unless there is a strong movement on Wall Street. The Dow Jones industrial average closed 11.86 points higher overnight, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 1.95 points. The NASDAQ composite gained 8.47 points to finish at its 18-month-high. On the local front gainers and losers were almost tied at 59 versus 52, while 62 stocks were unchanged. Volume reached 1.29 billion stocks worth P3.34 billion. Half of the six subindices gained, led by industrial stocks, which closed 1.58 percent or 74.72 points higher at 4,815.32. Holding firms also went up by 1.1 percent or 19.76 points to 1,813.96, while the mining and oil index added 0.22 percent or 20.78 points to 9,397.34. On the other hand, property stocks declined by 1.09 percent or 11.64 points to 1,055.57, while the financial index lost 0.14 percent or 0.89 point to 652.26. Services also shed 0.1 percent or 1.51 points to 1,549.41. Lucio Tan-led Eton Properties Philippines, Inc., which on Tuesday said it was seeking to increase property sales by a fifth this year, led Wednesday’s gainers, closing 12 percent higher at P2.75. On the other hand Prime Gaming Philippines, Inc. posted the biggest loss of a quarter to P22.50. Dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., the most active stock, added P5 to P2,680. — Nikka Corsino/NPA, GMANews.TV