PSE main index up by 24 points on inflation report

The Philippine Stock Exchange index gained 23.97 points to close at 3,335.71in thin trading Tuesday, helped by a last minute rally on news that the inflation rate in June eased to 3.9 percent. There was hardly volume compared to other sessions, according to a trader with ATR KimEng Securities Inc. Investors found no positive news from overseas markets with the New York Stock Exchange closed overnight for a holiday and Asian bourses trading on negative sentiment over the gloomy prospects of a global economic recovery, ATR KimEng’s trader said. It was only later in the session when the inflation report came out that the market seemed to have found some direction, the trader said. The Philippines' annual headline inflation rate eased to 3.9 percent in June from 4.3 percent in May, as slower annual price increases were posted in all the commodity groups except in food, beverages and tobacco index, the National Statistics Office said Tuesday. More than 888.5 million shares worth over P2.25 billion changed hands in Tuesday’s session, but decliners led advancers 59 to 47 with 58 issues unchanged. —VS, GMANews.TV