Local share prices buck global slump

Philippine stocks rose for a third straight session yesterday despite a slump in global stocks.

At the Philippine Stock Exhange (PSE), the main composite index gained another 26.64 points to settle at 5,193.84 while the all shares index added 9.85 points to 3,411.45.

“The approaching end of the second quarter raises anticipation on window-dressing, boosting near-term trades,’’ said Jun Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp.

“The overriding optimism is based on a promising prognosis for the economy based on the stronger-than-expected first quarter results,’’ Calaycay said.

Sectoral indices, however, ended mixed. Services led the sectors, surging by 1.49 percent or 25.73 points to 1,754.24 followed by holding firms, which added 0.38 percent or 16.88 points to 4,427.07. The industrial sector increased by 0.22 percent to 17.37 points to 7,772.30.

Meanwhile, mining and oil ended in the red, dropping 0.32 percent or 79.77 points to 24,535.83. Financials also fell 0.25 percent or 3.18 points to 1,282.88 while property also shed 0.16 percent or 2.98 points to 1,885.53.

Market breadth was negative with decliners outnumbering gainers 80 to 76 while 42 issues were unchanged. Total turnover reached 1.44 billion shares worth P4.82 billion.

Asian markets were mostly down after Spain formally requested help to rescue its ailing banks and investors lost hope that an upcoming sum- mit of European leaders would yield meaningful results.

Investors already worried about an economic slowdown in the US and China were preparing for the European leaders to disappoint at their June 28-29 gathering in Brussels.

“Another day, another bout of global jitters about the state of the European Union. Overnight we saw equities on both sides of the Atlantic sold off heavily,” Cameron Peacock of IG Markets in Melbourne said in a market commentary.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 0.9 percent to 8,663.99 and South Korea’s Kospi was 0.3 percent lower at 1,820.12. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.5 percent to 4,008.10. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 84.39 to 18,981.80.