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LOCAL share prices closed slightly higher on Tuesday on last-minute
buying but volumes remained thin amid anxiety over high crude oil
prices and inflationary pressures, dealers said.
Investors were also reluctant to take fresh
positions while waiting for the resumption of trading on Wall Street
and the release on Thursday of Philippine gross domestic product
data.
The composite index rose 15.46 points to
2,855.98, its highest level for the day.
The all-share index was up 7.32 points or 0.4
percent at 1,756.20.
Turnover remained lean at P1.8 billion compared
with Monday’s P1.7 billion. There were 56 advancers and 37
decliners, while 63 stocks were flat.
Despite gains in conglomerate Ayala Corp. and
Lepanto Mining, Lawrence de Leon of Accord Capital Equities said,
“trading was generally cautious.”
“The outlook for the market remains dim due to
the heavy weight oil prices are putting on the economy,” said
Maria Arlysa Narciso of AB Capital Securities.
Ayala Corp. rose 1.5 percent to P350 on bargain
hunting.
Index leader Philippine Long Distance Telephone
Co. (PLDT), the country’s biggest company by market value, was
unchanged at P2,645.
Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) closed steady at
P63 after rising as high as P65.50.
Meralco’s annual stockholders’ meeting was
halted on Tuesday as two of its major shareholders continued to
tussle over management control of the country’s biggest power
distributor.
Food and beverage giant San Miguel Corp.’s
A-shares were flat at P42.50 while its B-shares were unchanged
P44.00.
-- AFP
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