PHL shares prices snap 5-day skid amid bargain hunting

Philippine share prices posted modest gains on Thursday, snapping a five-day skid that provided investors bargain-hunting opportunities. The benchmark 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index rose 39.58 points or 0.94 percent to 4,230.56 while the broader all shares climbed 1.13 points or 0.55 percent to 2,959.49. Gainers dominated losers, 85 to 48, while 37 stocks closed unchanged. All six sectoral indices closed in the green. Property and Services were the best performers, surging 1.94-percent and 1.7 percent, respectively. Volume traded reached 6.60 billion shares worth P4.18 billion. "The five-day slide [raised] the prospects of a technical rebound," said Justino Calaycay Jr. of Accord Capital Equities. In a market note, meanwhile, AB Capital, said the long-term prospects of the market remains bullish and "still moving within the long term uptrend channel." Overnight, Wall Street closed in the green. In Asia, except for stock markets in New Zealand and Singapore, all other bourses were trading higher. Stock markets in Australia, Japan, and South Korea were logging in gains of over one percent. In the local bourse, however, three of the five most active stocks for the day retreated. Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., one of the country's largest lenders in terms of assets and the day's top traded, slipped P0.05 or 0.07 percent to P70. Holding firm Alliance Global Group Inc. added P0.04 or 0.39 percent at P10.28. Aboitiz Power Corp. gained P0.10 or 0.36 percent at P28.10. DMCI Holdings Inc. dropped P1.05 or 2.60 percent to P39.35. Food and beverage manufacturer dipped P0.50 or 1.20 percent to P41. -- CMA/OMG, GMA News