MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) – The U.S. market's rally on Tuesday enticed investors to go buy Philippine issues that were battered by Egypt's political unrest in the past two sessions.
The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange jumped by 1.58 percent or 60.58 points to 3,891.07. The broader all-share index gained 1. 29 percent or 38.67 points to 3,033.76.
Trading volume reached 7.96 billion shares valued at 4.07 billion pesos (92.06 million U.S. dollars) with 76 issues advancing, 38 declining and 62 were unchanged.
All six counters finished in the positive, led by the holding firm sector which jumped by as much as 2.45 percent.
"After defying global and regional trends Tuesday, the Philippine Stock Exchange joined its peers Wednesday and finished in the green, snapping a three-day slide," analyst Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said.
"Wednesday's rise was widely expected after the local index had given up nearly 4 percent in three days," he added.
Calaycay said the recent developments in both the domestic front and overseas arena has been positive. Investors, he said, are slowly factoring in the political turbulence in Egypt and its near-term impact.
Hence, the analyst said, investors have no further reasons to sell their positions and instead position on the heavily battered issues.
Providing impetus among investors was the 148-point rally of the Dow Jones industrial average index Tuesday after companies continue to report decent earnings and the U.S. manufacturing sector accelerating at its fastest rate in over six years.
Analysts said Philippines' Wednesday performance suggests a possible spillover of the momentum on Thursday's trades. The index will make an initial attempt to restore the 3,900 to 3,930 mark.
Most stocks in the 30-company index closed higher. These issues include Banco de Oro Unibank, Inc., holding firm Alliance Global Group, Inc. and Jollibee Foods Corp. (report from Philstar.com)
