Philippine shares rise on local sentiments, Wall Street gains

Share prices on the Philippine Stock Exchange rose in moderate trading Tuesday, riding on positive sentiments on the domestic front and gains on Wall Street overnight. The main PSE index gained 28.89 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 3,435.85. Despite the weakness in other Asian markets, there are positive sentiments influencing the Philippine market, starting with the breach of the 3,400 psychological resistance, said Juan Carlos Garcia, an analyst with online broker 2Trade Asia. "It’s an important level that [when breached] draws in more participants into the market," Garcia said. This sentiment was reinforced by gains overnight on Wall Street as the US market assign a positive outlook to the earnings season this quarter, according to Garcia. "The market is also seeing that the Aquino administration is doing something about the deficit gap and has made a stand against supplemental budgets," he added. The report that foreign direct investments continue to come in despite the uncertainties in the global economic recovery, also helped Philippine stocks make positive gains, the 2Trade Asia analyst said. More than 1.25 billion shares worth P4.06 billion changed hands in Tuesday’s session. Gainers led losers 68 to 38, with 57 issues closing unchanged. —VS,GMANews.TV