RP stocks recover partially as traders go bargain-hunting

(Update) Philippine stocks had recovered partially during mid-trade Thursday, as investors bought bargain blue chips which fell to discount prices during Wednesday’s plunge. The peso, meanwhile, opened slightly stronger at 48.49 against the US dollar. It closed Wednesday at 48.54 against the greenback, dragged by the stocks sell-off. As of 10:32 a.m., the Philippine Stock Exchange composite index had surged 114.77 points or 3.74 percent at 3,182.22. However, this was not enough to fully regain the 7.92 percent drop the index suffered Wednesday, as the local bourse tracked a global sell-off which started in the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Analysts have assured that the plunge in the local bourse is not permanent and will not lead to a total reversal of market’s bullish momentum, given the local economy’s stable fundamentals. “It’s a new start, not a rally’s end. Fundamentals remain strong," Association of Securities Analysts of the Philippines president Francis Liboro told reporters during the PSE’s quarterly briefing on Thursday. During mid-trade, gainers were whipping losers 98 to 9 while 25 issues were unchanged. Volume being traded had reached 6.98 billion valued at P2.31 billion. Thursday’s recovery was being led by market heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., which as of 10:32 a.m. had risen P80 or 3.45 percent at P2,400. On Wednesday (Tuesday night in the United States), global markets, including the New York Stock Exchange fell sharply on woes that the Chinese economy would be suffering a slowdown. The Dow Jones lost 416 points following an almost 9 percent drop in Chinese stocks. This was the worst trading day for US stocks ever since the 9/11 terrorist attacks on New York. The Dow partially recovered on Thursday (Wednesday night in the United States), rising 52 points.-GMANews.TV