Wall St rally boosts Phl stocks

MANILA, Philippines - Philippine share prices improved yesterday on the back of a strong Wall Street rally.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) climbed 0.17 percent or 12.43 points to end at 7,204.55 while the all shares index gained by 0.08 percent or 3.47 points or to 4,237.67.

“The local market’s reaction to the sustained rise and record close in US markets was rather tepid at best,” said Justino Calaycay, analyst at Accord Capital Equities Corp.

Wall Street indexes rallied overnight as both the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials finished to a record high of 2,038.26 and 17,613.74, respectively.

Locally, the PSEI peaked at 7218.66  in the morning session due to the US market’s impact.

Despite failing to sustain the early rise, Calaycay said Tuesday’s finish is still a positive sign as the benchmark index managed to stay above the 7,200 level.

Four of the six counters ended in the green led by property firms which picked up a modest 0.57 percent or 15.97 points.

Mining and oil firms, meanwhile, suffered the biggest blow as it dropped 1.03 percent or 157.34 points.

Market breadth stayed negative as decliners continued to dominate advancers, 96 to 89, while 40 stocks were unchanged.  Value turnover, however, soared to P12.39 billion.