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BANCO de
Oro Unibank rose 9.52 percent on Thursday to close
trading at P34.50, ending a three-day losing streak. It
opened the session at P32 and peaked at P35 on value
turnover of P509.482 million.
Despite
its drop to a session’s low at P31.50, its overall
performance landed it No. 2 among the market’s biggest
gainers, next only to Manulife Financial Corp. of
Canada, which was the market’s worst performer on Monday
following the financial woes that hit Wall Street over
the weekend, and of which also recovered. Manulife ended
trading at P1,250, up 13.12 percent, on thin value
turnover of 25,000 shares.
The two
financial stocks bounced back as the Philippine Stock
Exchange index (PSEi), the market main barometer, failed
to follow up its 35.38-point gain Wednesday. PSEi lost
104.63 points, or 4.258 percent, to close at 2,352. 37,
its lowest since July 3, according to Bloomberg. It was
the third time this week it fell more than 4 percent.
While
Banco de Oro has been falling from Monday to Wednesday,
it nevertheless was the market’s only bank survivor on
Thursday, cushioning the decline of the financial sector
which closed 11.43 lower at 588.78.
Banco de
Oro, the bank unit of the SM Group controlled by
businessman Henry Sy Sr. and his family, provided P3.8
billion “to cover its exposure” in Lehman Brothers which
has declared bankruptcy.
In a
filing, it said the provision “will come from
reallocation of excess reserves and additional
provisions in the current period.” Among the 14 bank
stocks, only Banco de Oro recorded net foreign buying of
P13.707 million.
Metrobank, which hit a 30-day high of P41.50 on August
11, 2008, closed 4.687 percent lower at P30.50 on P44.91
million net foreign selling. It had set aside
“provisions equivalent to $14.0 million using current
market prices.” It told regulators that its exposure in
the bonds floated by Lehman Brothers amounted to $20
million.
Metrobank reported surplus of P17.061 billion as of June
30, 2008, after paying P722.098 million. It distributed
cash dividend of P1.084 billion in 2007. |
