PHL share prices surge extend gains from previous session

Philippine share prices closed the week and opened the month of July in the green, extending substantial gains from the previous session. The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index soared 60.42 points or 1.41 percent to 4,351.63 while the broader all shares surged 31.93 points or 1.06 percent to 3,034.57. Gainers clobbered losers, 87 to 46, while 34 stocks closed unchanged. All six sectoral indices advanced, led by the 2.09-percent climb in Services and the 1.31-percent rise in Industrial. Volume traded reached 2.09 billion shares valued at P5.28 billion. "Moving forward, the market will begin the second half of the year with an early eye on the next earnings cycle. The first quarter continued to be bullish to listed-firms' bottom-lines but the impact of the events that unfolded in the second quarter may have caused a dent on expectations," said trader Justino Calaycay Jr. of Accord Capital Equities in a market note. For the rest of the year, the market would have to contend with "uncertainties" in the major economies in Europe, US, China and Japan. "While the main concern in Europe, Japan and the US is how to boost the economy from varying nature and degree of crisis, the question in China is how to prevent growth from overheating," he added. Overnight Thursday, both the Dow and Nasdaq rose by over one percent. In Asia on Friday, sentiments were also bullish with bourses in Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea and Taiwan logging in gains of over one percent. In the local bourse, all five most actively traded stocks posted gains. Telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., the session's top traded, jumped P68 or 2.94 percent to P2,380. Global-Estate Resorts Inc., a company owned by Andrew Tan's Alliance Global Group Inc., added P0.14 or 7.18 percent at P2.09. Geothermal power producer Energy Development Corp. gained P0.17 or 2.58 percent at P6.76. Holding firm Alliance Global Group Inc. rose P0.44 or 4.02 percent to P11.38. Oil refiner Petron Corp. climbed P1.28 or 9.48 percent to P14.78. -- CMA/OMG, GMA News