Stock market hits new high

MANILA, Philippines - The local equities market trekked to a new record high yesterday as investors grabbed stocks following a slew of upbeat corporate income reports.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi), a basket of 30 stocks regarded as the benchmark of the market’s overall performance, gained 0.61 percent or 33.31 points to close at 5,457.82.

It broke the 5,443.74 record on Oct. 4 and also higher than the 5,424.51 finish last Wednesday, Oct. 31.

The bellwether PSEi hit a high of 5,483.93 in morning trading, flirting with the all-time intraday high of 5,484 recorded on Oct. 5.

The broader all-shares index rose 0.1 percent or 3.58 points to 3,584.17.

Advancers outpaced decliners, 93 to 71, while 43 stocks did not change.

Turnover jumped, with 8.62 billion shares worth P8.653 billion changing hands compared with 3.54 billion shares valued at P6.346 billion on Oct. 31 prior to the holidays.

“There was renewed optimism of investors after the long weekend. Corporate earnings inspired investors,” Astro C. del Castillo, managing director of First Grade Finance Inc., said in a phone interview.

“We hit an all-time high because what moved the market were selected blue chips,” Claire S. Quiray, an analyst at Regina Capital Development Corp., said in a telephone interview.

Listed firms are reporting double-digit income growth for the January to September period on the back of a strong economy, buoyed by robust consumption.

Most sub-indices were in the green, led by financial firms that rallied 2.16 percent or 29.74 points to 1,404.47 while industrial companies added 1.16 percent or 99.27 points to close at 8,635.87.

Service firms lost 0.6 percent or 10.44 points to end at 1,743.84 while mining and oil companies fell 0.28 percent or 55.49 points to 19,857.39.

For the entire week, the market is seen to trade sideways as investors are still looking for bigger news.

Quiray said investors are apprehensive whether they will follow the upward trend.

“They are cautiously optimistic,” Quiray said.

For Del Castillo, some foreign funds are still shying away from the market prior to the closely-fought US presidential elections.

The PSEi, however, bucked the trend in the region, which closed in the red as investors chose to stay at the sidelines prior to the US elections.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 slipped 0.48 percent or 43.78 points to 9,007.44 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.47 percent or 104.93 points to 22,006.40 and Singapore’s Straits Times dropped 0.26 percent or 7.79 points to end at 3,032.96.

Major stock markets fell as a looming leadership change in China and uncertainty about the outcome of the US presidential election reduced appetite for riskier investments.

The race between President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney is virtually tied one day ahead of the election, generating an atmosphere of uncertainty that markets normally dislike.

Investors could awaken Wednesday without a clear winner. If the election comes down to a thin margin in a swing state such as Ohio, the outcome could be delayed for days or weeks.

“The worst case scenario for markets is for a prolonged period of uncertainty if the results produce no clear cut result,” said analysts at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong.

- with AP