Philippine shares rise on bargain-hunting

MANILA, May 24 (Xinhua) -- The Philippine market bounced back on Monday but failed to make an impressive run-up as most investors remain cautious of the developments overseas, analysts said.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index went up by as much as 33.51 points during intra-day session but lost some of its steam before the final bell to finish at 3,191.29, 11.93 points or 0.37 percent higher from Friday's close.

The broader all share index also rose by 0.18 percent or 3.72 points to 2,018.60, while two sectors, the service and the mining and oil sectors, of the six subindices extended their losses for the sixth time already.

Trading volume reached 5.01 billion shares worth 2.42 billion pesos (52.11 million U.S. dollars). Foreign investors continue to be net sellers with 192.7 million pesos (4.14 million U.S. dollars) .

Decliners swamp advancers 48 to 41 while 70 shares were unchanged.

"(Monday's) rally will fall under the category of a technical rebound after our one-week drop last week. But sellers resurfaced when the market broke the 3,200 level--or 33 points higher from Friday--because there is still uncertainty in Europe," Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said.

If the European crisis further worsened, this might lead to a weaker euro and a stronger dollar. A stronger dollar will weaken the Philippine peso and this will have an impact on the country, Calaycay explains.

"(And) if multilateral lenders impose more rigid requirement so that will constrict the credit market," he said.

Stocks in the 30-company index closed mixed. Among those that shed their value are heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp.

Philippines' fast-food giant Jollibee Foods Corp. meanwhile closed flat, along with Ayala Land, Inc. Manila Electric Co. and Ayala Corp. on the other hand finished 3.68 percent and 3.17 percent higher.

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