RP stock index climbs to fresh record in more than 2 years

Local share prices on Tuesday rose to their highest level in more than two years, tracking the overnight rally on Wall Street, where investors were encouraged by the rise in US consumer spending for the fifth straight month. The Philippine Stock Exchange index went up by 0.77 percent or 24.61 points to 3,202.17, with subindices rising across the board. It was the index’s highest close in two years and one-and-a-half months. The last time it closed higher than today was on February 14, 2008, when it finished at 3,211.6 points, the bourse said. "The local market mirrored the US market’s movement yesterday," analyst Jasper Jimenez of Banco De Oro Securities said. He added that the composite index would likely rise further on Wednesday, the last trading day this quarter. Markets won’t open until Monday as traders go on vacation for the Holy Week. Jimenez said share prices were poised for further growth in the second quarter, unless markets overseas drop. The US market closed at an 18-month high on Monday after news that American consumers were more willing to spend, making investors more optimistic about the economy. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 45.5 points, while the NASDAQ composite added 9.23 points. The Standard and Poor’s 500 index also closed 6.63 points higher. On the local front, gainers beat losers 59 to 40, while 63 stocks were unchanged. Turnover was brisk at 1.19 billion stocks worth P28.32 billion, which an analyst traced to a block sale of Manila Electric Co. shares. Today is the deadline for Pangilinan-led Beacon Electric Asset Holdings, Inc. to buy another 6.6 percent of the utility as it tries to stabilize its hold on the country’s biggest power distributor. Beacon earlier told the stock exchange it would buy 74.7 million more Meralco shares owned by Lopez-owned First Philippine Holdings Corp. for more than P20 billion. Meanwhile, the broader all-share index inched up by 0.24 percent or 4.74 points to 1996.59, while subindices rose across the board. Mining and oil stocks went up by 2.5 percent or 225.02 points to 9,262.42, while the property index advanced by 1.5 percent or 17.27 points to 1,176.78. Holding firms also gained 1.31 percent or 25.77 points to 1,986.2, while industrial stocks added 0.73 percent or 36.21 points to 4,965.84. Services likewise gained 0.11 percent or 1.67 points to 1,472.83, while financial stocks were up by 0.05 percent or 0.34 point to 683.81. Bankard, Inc. led the day’s gainers, going up by 11.32 percent to P1.18, while Metro Pacific Tollways Corp., the day’s biggest loser, shed 37.65 percent to P5.30. Energy Development Corp., the most active stock, was unchanged at P5.10. Dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. was also steady at P2,475. — Nikka Corsino and Norman P. Aquino, GMANews.TV