Philippine bourse closes almost flat

The Philippine stock market managed to edge higher on Wednesday even if most investors remain uncertain on their next move. The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index increased by 7. 62 points, or 0.11 percent, to 6,787.88, while the all-share index was up by 10.36 points, or 0.26 percent, to 4,060.64. Trading volume reached 1.28 billion shares worth 7.22 billion pesos (165.15 million U.S. dollars). There were 92 gainers, 78 losers while 40 stocks closed flat. "Lack of leads and uncertainties over the first quarter gross domestic product report this Thursday kept investors on the bench, " analyst Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said in his daily stock market comment. Markets in the U.S. were shut overnight in observance of Memorial Day, although European shares managed to provide some positive impetus, closing higher after a favorable outcome in Italy's Parliamentary elections and hints the European Central Bank is leaning towards further easing. "The disappointing earnings in the first quarter have contributed to the recent slack in market activity but select stocks continue to hold at or close to recent highs," Calaycay said. For now, analysts said investors might remain at the sidelines unless they find more solid reason to enter the local equities aggressively again. Stocks in the 30-company index closed mixed. Among those picked up were heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., Ayala Corp., and SM Investments Corp.