PHL share prices end higher, lifted by select issues

Interest in mining issues lifted Philippine share prices on Friday, closing the week in the green. The bellwether 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index climbed 15.13 points or 0.35 percent to 4,326.15 while the all shares rose 14.59 points. Gainers trounced losers, 107 to 37, while 38 stocks closed unchanged. Four of the six sectoral indices advanced, with Mining & Oil logging in the biggest gain with a 2.45-percent improvement. Volume traded reached about 6.68 billion shares valued at P5.67 billion. Despite persisting uncertainties brought about by the credit rating downgrade of the US and the debt crisis in Europe, investors remained optimistic over select stocks, keeping the market from slipping into the bear's territory. "Investors nowadays are still keen on certain stocks with those in the mining industry currently a clear favorite...Mining stocks, particularly those into gold, serve as favorites now as gold prices ascend amidst a flight to safety by global investors," said Prince Anthony Yeung of AB Capital in a market note posted online. Overnight, Wall Street posted gains. As of mid-trading Friday, Asian markets were also mostly trading higher, led by the over 1 percent gains in main indices in Australia, Hong Kong and Singapore. In the local stock market, three of the five most active stocks rose. Lepanto Consolidated Mining Co., the session's top traded, added P0.10 or 7.35 percent at P1.46. Telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. dropped P20 or 0.89 percent to P2,240. Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., which reported higher earnings for the year's first half, leaped P1.30 or 1.75 percent to P75.70. Alliance Global Group Inc., Andrew Tan's holding firm, rose P0.06 or 0.54 percent to P11.16. Philex Mining Corp. was flat at P27.85. -- CMA/OMG, GMA News