Index pulls back early gains, ends flat

The Philippine stock market posted gains in early trade along with the rise in Asian stocks but eventually pulled back by the close of trading.

Still, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) ended in positive territory, closing by 7.41 points, or 0.08 percent, to finish at 8,865.13 while the broader All Shares index was flat at 5,127.25.

Counters were mostly positive with the mining and oil leading the gains after it rose 2.33 percent. This was followed by the industrial index, which shed 1.52 percent.

On the other hand, the financials and holding firms index closed in negative territory. In terms of market breadth, advancing stocks outnumbered decliners, 108 to 102 while 61 issues were left unchanged.

Total value turnover reached P7.41 billion.

Traders said the market went up despite a holiday in the US as it tracked Asian peers.

Asian stock markets were mostly higher Tuesday following a holiday for US markets as investors look ahead to American corporate earnings.

For instance, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.4 percent to 3,425.03 while Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 gained 0.7 percent to 23,951.81.

Anaylsts said investors’ focus would soon shift to the corporate earnings season. Full year corporate results among local companies are expected to be strong, sustaining the rosy third quarter earnings, they said.

US, EU, Japan and China have seen four to five consecutive quarter of earnings improvement.

Asian markets may also see this trend to continue as global cyclical upswing is gaining momentum, traders said.