Philippine bourse closes higher on positive global market expectations

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Philippine stock market finished the week positively as it ride of wave of optimism that pervaded across the globe.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange rose by 0.76 percent or 58.86 points to 7,773.45, while the broader all-share index added 0.64 percent or 28.86 points to 4,506.

Trading volume reached 1.17 billion shares worth P8.89 billion ($200.45 million) with 111 stocks advancing, 68 declining, and 47 being unchanged.

All six counters were up.

"Positive signals from the negotiating tables in both Ukraine and Europe pushed equity indexes in the United States and Europe to multi-year record levels. Asian markets followed suit," analyst Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said in his daily stock market comment.

The analyst also noted that confidence was likewise boosted by the local central bank's decision to lower its inflation forecast to 2.4 percent this year from 3.0 percent this year and to 2.5 percent next year.

"Value turnover, an indication of the level of interest and activity, remained thin however suggesting a possible growing apprehension as the index tests resistance points," he said.

2TradeAsia.com advises investors to check on laggards, specially speculative stocks that have breached oversold levels.

"Long-term investors may find another opportunity to take their medium-term bets, considering steady rates, boosted by improved sentiment in U.S. markets," 2TradeAsia.com said.

For the week, the index added 0.58 percent.

Stocks in the 30-company index were mostly up. These include Megaworld Corp., SM Investments Corp., and Alliance Global Group, Inc.