Share prices rebound on upbeat global economic outlook

MANILA, Philippines – Share prices rebounded yesterday as investors picked up select stocks.

Traders said the upbeat sentiment was supported by the release of better-than-expected manufacturing data in China as this perked up outlook on global economic recovery.

By the end of trading, the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index rose 0.29 percent or 11.92 points to 4,111.99.

The broader all-share index was up 10.30 points or 0.4 percent at 2,585.61.

Gainers beat losers, 94 to 40, while 38 issues were unchanged.

A total of 1.52 billion shares worth P4.14 billion were traded.

Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT) was the most actively traded stock by value as it lost 0.8 percent to P2,596 apiece. This despite the one percent rise in its American Depositary Receipts.

Second most active was SM Investments Corp., which fell 6.5 percent to P533 after closing at a fresh all-time high of P570 the previous session.

In the meantime, Energy Development Corp. gained one percent to P6.15 after it disclosed that its unit, Green Core Geothermal, inked a power supply deal with electric cooperatives of Iloilo, Aklan and Capiz.

Meanwhile, the dollar slipped against the yen in Asian trade on Thursday on anticipation that the Federal Reserve will adopt fresh monetary easing to boost the ailing economy, dealers said.

The dollar fell to ¥83.55 in Tokyo morning trade against ¥83.72 in New York late Wednesday. The euro slipped to $1.3609, down from 1.3625 in New York, its strongest level since mid-April.

The European single currency fell to ¥113.84 from ¥114.08.

Players remained wary of the possibility of more market intervention from Japanese authorities to weaken the yen and measures by the Federal Reserve to support the US economy, which could further weaken the dollar.