RP stock index breaks record of 2 years and 2 months

Local share prices surged on Tuesday, breaking a record of more than two years and sustaining its first-quarter growth. The Philippine Stock Exchange index rose by 2.09 percent or 66.71 points to 3,253.48, its highest finish since February 5, 2008, when it closed at 3,283.56. Trading was brisk, with 1.8 billion stocks worth P4.23 billion changing hands. "We are still playing catch-up with other markets since we have just come from vacation. There continues to be some string of positive news — the overseas market has also been up. The global economy is somehow fully recovering," analyst Astro del Castillo of First Grade Holdings, Inc. said in an interview. The Dow Jones industrial average finished 46.48 points higher overnight, close to the 11,000 psychological level. The NASDAQ composite leapt by 26.95 points, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 9.34 points. "Investors continued to take on blue chips, but expect some profit-taking either tomorrow or on Thursday since we’re heading off for another long weekend," del Castillo said. "Overall, we are very optimistic about the market’s performance for the rest of the year. The index will do better this year than it did last year," he added. The broader all-share index rose by 1.55 percent or 30.87 points to 2,017.61, with 91 gainers, 31 losers, and 50 steady. Dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. was the most traded stock, gaining P45 to P2,505. Metrobank shares also added 50 centavos to P50 apiece, while Ayala Corp. gained P10 to P347.50. Mabuhay Holdings Corp., the day’s biggest gainer, closed 29 percent higher at 44 centavos. Interport Resources Corp.’s B stocks, the biggest loser, closed a fifth lower at 60 centavos. Subindices rose across the board, led by mining and oil stocks, which went up by 2.91 percent or 270.74 points to finish at 9,564.58. Holding firms also jumped by 2.58 percent or 51.31 points to 2,038.78, while service stocks closed 1.96 percent or 28.8 points higher at 1,494.92. Adding 1.77 percent each, property stocks closed 20.33 points higher at 1,165.96, while industrial stocks gained 87 points to 5,005.09. Financial stocks likewise went up by 1.55 percent or 10.6 points to 694.62. — Nikka A. Corsino/NPA, GMANews.TV