WB, Moody’s actions boost Phl stocks

MANILA, Philippines - Investors continued loading up on stocks amid optimism caused by a slew of positive news here and abroad.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index rose 0.83 percent or 52.73 points to 6,443.21, marking its sixth straight day in positive territory. It is the strongest closing for the main index since ending at 6,477.94 on Sept. 23.

“We mirrored the bounce in Wall Street because of easing effects of the government shutdown,” Abbygayle Estrella, equities analyst at AB Capital Securities Inc., said in a phone interview.

On Friday, Wall Street rose on increasing optimism that the budget deadlock will be resolved soon. The Dow Jones industrial average added 0.5 percent or 76.10 points to 15,072.58 while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained 0.7 percent or 11.84 points to 1,690.50.

Coming from huge selloffs in the past few months, investors are already starting to return to the local bourse on the back of the Philippines’ third investment grade rating, this time coming from Moody’s Investors Service, Estrella said.

Furthermore, the World Bank upgraded its forecast for Philippine economic growth to seven percent this year, up from the 6.- percent growth target announced in May. In contrast, the World Bank cut its forecast for countries like China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand.

The local bourse bucked the trend in Asia, which was hurt by the World Bank’s downgrade.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 shed 1.22 percent or 170.99 points to 13,853.32 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 0.71 percent or 164.59 points to 22,973.95.