RP share prices gain 28.44 points ahead of 2Q results

Share prices at the Philippine Stock Exchange gained Monday as investors and traders continued to expect better earnings of some blue-chip companies for the second quarter of this year. The PSE index went up by 28.44 points or 0.83 percent to 3,455.24 points. Trading volume was anemic at 649 million valued at P2.598 billion. Advancers outperformed decliners 77 to 49, with 33 stocks unchanged. "[Investors and traders] look forward to better-than-expected earnings of companies for the second quarter of this year," said Juan Carlos Garcia, investment analyst of 2TradeAsia.com. Earnings could prove to be positive drivers for stocks if companies can sustain their strong performance, Garcia said. Scheduled to release earnings' results within the week are Globe Telecoms Inc., Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., Ayala Land Inc., Metro Pacific Investments Corp., and the Aboitiz companies. As the new trading system failed to fire up investors last week, Garcia said traders' participation in the market "will start to grow again this week as their sentiments are partly improving." Traders said the market this week seems to be stuck at a trading range of between 3,400 points and 3,470 points. But this range could be broken either way by some potential market catalysts. —JE/OMG, GMANews.TV