PHL share prices end higher amid gains in the region

Philippine share prices closed higher on Wednesday, reflecting the gains in the region and shrugging off another dismal overnight Wall Street trading. The bellwether 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index rose 12.13 points or 0.28 percent to 4,315.21 while the all shares jumped 12.63 points or 0.42 percent to 3,041.48. Gainers narrowly beat losers, 78 to 75, while 28 stocks closed unchanged. Except for the Mining & Oil index, which plunged 4.01 percent, all other five sectoral indices posted gains led by Services 1.48-percent climb. Volume traded reached 6.87 billion shares valued at P5.46 billion. "Technically, the market is moving sideways, building a wide-base at the 4,300-4,395 range, This further fuels expectations of a technically-induced rebound for the balance of the week," said trader Justino Calaycay Jr. of Accord Capital Equities. Overnight, the Dow slipped 0.90 percent, while Nasdaq slid 0.26 percent. Asian markets, as of mid-trade, were posting gains led by the over 2 percent rise of the main indices in Australia and South Korea. In the local bourse, three of the five most active stocks retreated. Lepanto Consolidated Mining Co. "A", the session's top traded, slipped P0.17 or 11.33 percent to P1.33. Ayala Corp., one of the country's largest business groups, lost P0.40 or 0.13 percent at P306. Telecommunications giant Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. leaped P38 or 1.59 percent to P2,420. First Gen Corp. added P0.36 or 2.55 percent at P14.48. Boulevard Holdings Inc. shed P0.05 or 10.20 percent at P0.44. --CMA/OMG, GMA News