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THE Philippine stock market closed higher Tuesday but
quick profit-taking limited the upside amid continuing concerns over
a possible credit crunch in the United States, dealers said.
The composite index added 33.74
points to 3,501.20 but was well off the day’s high of 3,545.70.
The broader all-share index rose
16.91 points to 2,268.96.
Declines led gains 62 to 48, with
54 stocks unchanged.
Volume was 3.7 billion shares
worth P6.2 billion.
The peso was at 45.349 to the
dollar.
“The market started out strong
with investors scooping up bargains from the previous declines but
it weakened at the end of the session. Obviously, investors are
still nervous about potential wild price swings,” said Lawrence de
Leon of Accord Capital Equities.
He forecasts that trading will
remain volatile in the near-term as the market looks for a more
comfortable support level.
Gomer Tan of Regina Capital
Development Corp. said the key composite index can build a strong
base at 3,500 points but noted that the market is “still jittery.
We can expect investors to focus on the US housing and credit
concerns.”
The day’s top gainers included
property stocks, Ayala Land, up 75 centavos at P17 while Megaworld
rose 15 centavos to P3.85.
Ayala Corp. rose P15 to P530.
Newly listed broadcaster GMA
Network was up 25 centavos at P10.75. GMA debuted strongly on
Monday, rising 23.5 percent from its offer price of P8.50. Rival
ABS-CBN Broadcasting was steady at P34.50.
Philippine Long Distance
Telephone Co. was flat at P2,595.
San Miguel Corp. saw its A shares
fall 50 centavos to P71.50 while its B shares were unchanged at
P72.50.
--AFP
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