PHL share prices surge, snap 4-day skid

Positive news in the local front pushed Philippine share prices higher to recover and snap a four-day skid. The bellwether 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index surged 61.11 points or 1.48 percent to 4,201.38, ending just above the mid-term support of 4,200 that it had held in the past few months, while the all shares climbed 22.34 points or 0.76 percent to 2,948.35. Market breadth was positive with 83 gainers dominating 37 losers and 38 stocks that closed unchanged. All six sectoral indices closed in the green, led by Mining & Oil's 3.72-percent rise and Holding Firms' 1.91-percent advance. Volume traded reached 2.83 billion shares worth P4.12 billion. On Wednesday, the government reported that employment rate in the country improved to 92.8 percent in April from 92 percent in the same month last year. Credit rating agency Moody's also upgraded the Philippines' Ba3 foreign and local currency long-term bond rating to Ba2 from Ba3 with a stable outlook. Overnight, Wall Street closed in the green. In Asia, meanwhile, stock markets were mixed with Australia, Hong Kong, India and Taiwan in the red, while Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and South Korea were trading higher. Prince Anthony Yeung of AB Capital said that although the market is currently undergoing a difficult period, the "medium to long term outlook remains positive." In the local bourse, four of the five most active stocks for the session posted gains. Banco de Oro Unibank Inc., the country's largest lender in terms of assets and the day's top traded, was flat at P55, while rival Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. jumped P1.55 or 2.28 percent to P69.50. Lepanto Consolidated Mining Co. rose P0.05 or 5.88 percent to P0.90. Diversifying conglomerate San Miguel Corp. soared P1.30 or 1.16 percent to P113.30. Telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. added P44 or 1.91 percent at P2,348. -- CMA/OMG GMA News