MANILA, Philippines – The local stock market managed to eke out slight gains for the second straight session yesterday as investors exited the market ahead of a long weekend.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) inched up 0.18 percent or 13.13 points to settle at 7,194.43, while the broader all shares index added 0.18 percent or 8.19 points to 4,481.81.
“Investors appeared listless in yesterday’s trades, with the index staying generally positive despite a brief dip into negative territory before the midsession break,” said Justino Calaycay Jr., analyst at Accord Capital Securities.
Financial markets will be closed on Monday for the mid-term elections.
The market failed to secure an additional push from Wall Street that benefited from rosy first quarter corporate earnings.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.3 percent or 48.92 points to 15,105.12 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index climbed 0.4 percent or 6.73 points to another record high at 1,632.69.
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Locally, most counters were in the green, paced by holding firms that rose 0.38 percent or 24.77 points to 6,510.85. But mining and oil again bucked the trend, falling 0.13 percent or 24.76 points to 19,636.28.
Investor participation thinned, with P6.68 billion worth of shares changing hands, down from P9.01 billion on Wednesday.
Advancers outpaced decliners, 83 to 66, while 71 stocks did not change.
