PSEi surges on improving conditions in Europe, Korea

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose by 1.12 percent Monday, breaching the 4,200 resistance level, as investors see the European debt crisis and the military conflict between the two Koreas starting to dissipate. The PSEi racked up 46.64 points to close at 4,223.12, according to the PSE online market information as of 12:10 p.m. More than 793 million shares valued at P6.304 billion were traded. Advancers outpaced decliners 73 to 52, while 40 issues remained unchanged. “Investors continue to find yields as concerns in Europe and Korea are dissipating," said Astro del Castillo, managing director of First Grade Holdings Inc. European ministers have agreed to an €85-billion emergency loan package for Ireland, while the tensions between North Korea and South Korea start to “tone down," Del Castillo said. He pointed out the benchmark index went up as Wall Street gained on Friday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 19.68 points to close at 11,382.09. Wall Street managed to claw its way into positive territory after the US Labor Department reported the unemployment rate climbed to a seven-month high of 9.8 percent in November, an AP report said. — JE/VS/OMG, GMANews.TV