PSEi posts gains for 5th day buoyed by uptick in global markets

Buoyed by gains in the global markets, Philippine share prices continued to climb for the fifth straight day Wednesday. The benchmark 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index rose 40.07 points or 0.92 percent to 4,372.70 while the all shares jumped 28.19 points or 0.93 percent to 3,056.29. Market breadth was positive with 94 gainers dominating 56 losers and 47 stocks that closed unchanged. Except for Industrial, which shed 0.30 percent, all the other five subindices closed in the green, with Services advancing by some 2 percent. Volume traded reached 4.47 billion shares valued at P5.48 billion. The market tracked movements of offshore bourses. Overnight, Wall Street closed in the green. Asian markets, as of mid-trade Tuesday, were also mostly trading higher with South Korea's main index logging in nearly 4 percent of gains. "The market's focus will again be directed towards developments in major markets abroad...Fundamentals of the country remain sound and within expectations, but external factors remain a threat for the PSEi," said Maria Arlysa Narciso of AB Capital in a market note posted online. In the local bourse, three of the five most active stocks for the day posted gains. Fastfood giant Jollibee Foods Corp., the session's top traded, added P0.20 or 0.23 percent at P85.30. Lepanto Consolidated Mining Co. "A" shares slipped P0.01 or 0.66 percent to P1.50, while its "B" shares gained P0.01 or 0.62 percent at P1.63. Alternative power producer Energy Development Corp. dropped P0.21 or 3.38 percent to P6. Alliance Global Group Inc., the holding company of Andrew Tan, leaped P0.26 or 2.33 percent to P11.42. - CMA/OMG, GMA News