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LOCAL share prices closed slightly higher Friday as cautious
optimism over corporate results outweighed domestic political
concerns, dealers said.
The thin volumes, however, reflected caution
ahead of another antigovernment street protest set for later in the
day.
The composite index added 17.14 points to
3,129.99 after moving between 3,098.98 and 3,152.77. Volume reached
1.5 billion shares worth P3.2 billion.
There were 60 advancers and 29 decliners, while
54 stocks were unchanged.
The broader all-share index rose 11.72 points to
1,921.16.
At the Philippine Dealing System, the peso
closed at 40.455 to the dollar, slightly higher than Thursday’s
40.48 finish.
“I think what the market is telling us is that
there’s nothing to fear about this anti-government rally.
Investors have slowly been discounting all the bad news and are
taking another look at the bargains out there,” said Nestor Aguila
of DA Market Securities.
Opposition groups were marching on the financial
district later in the day to press President Arroyo to step down
over allegations of corruption.
“We saw some panic-selling in recent sessions
because of the fear factor. But the market now seems optimistic that
this anti-government rally will be peaceful. The focus is back on
the earnings stories,” Aguila said.
Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. rose P40
to P2,900.
SM Investments Corp. was up P2.50 at P287.50.
Manila Electric Co. rose P1 to P79.
San Miguel Corp. A was steady at P48 while its B
shares rose P2 to P50.50.
-- AFP
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