Index hits new record high for 18th time

MANILA, Philippines - Local share prices yesterday set a new record high for the 18th time this year, buoyed by firm US and China economic data.

Investors returning from a one-day break pushed the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) up 0.5 percent or 26.14 points to close at a fresh record 5,228.84.

The PSEi has already grown by 856.88 points or 19.6 percent since the start of the year.

 “Strong manufacturing numbers from China and the US cast aside fears of slowing economic activity,andthesentimentrippledacrossglobal markets. These and expectations of supportive inflation numbers augur well for the continued rally of our market into a record-setting pace,” PSE president and chief executive officer Hans B. Sicat said.

Foreign funds loaded up on Alliance Global Group Inc. with the purchase of P355.92 mil- lion worth of shares followed by Security Bank (P179.1 million), Universal Robina Corp. (P76.31 million), First Philippine Holdings (P74.2 mil- lion), Ayala Corp. (P60.04 million), San Miguel Corp. (P49.5 million).

Investors cheered the solid US manufacturing activity,whichgrewinAprilatthestrongestratein 10 months, raising hopes that the world’s biggest economy is still on track for a modest recovery.

Also boosting market sentiment was the steady improvement in the Chinese manufactur- ing sector, expanding for a fifth straight month.

A total of 3.53 billion shares valued at P17.86 billion changed hands yesterday. Advancers out- ran decliners 95 to 79 while 33 were unchanged.

Across Asia, markets rose Wednesday after a burst of manufacturing growth in the US pushed the Dow Jones industrial average to its highest close of 13,279.32 in more than four years.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.7 percent to 9,414.36 after a sharp tumble the day before. Other Asian markets opened higher following public holi- days. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 1.2 percent to 21,255.56. Benchmarks in Taiwan and mainland China posted strong gains. – With AP