Local bourse continues rally; Index back to 4,000 level

MANILA, Philippines – Local stocks rallied for a second straight session on Friday, bringing the main index back to the 4,000 level, on the back of the European Central Bank’s affirmation of support for European banks as well as upbeat US retail sales for September.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index surged by 118.74 points or 3.05 percent to finish at 4,009.26. The main index thus recouped most of the losses incurred in the first three days of this week, ending slightly better than the 3,999.65 closing last week.

Investors snapped up shares of SM Investments, PLDT, Lepanto A (for local investors), Metro Pacific Investments, San Miguel Corp., DMCI, SM Prime, Metrobank, Manila Mining A, Banco de Oro, ALI, EDC, URC, Security Bank, BPI, AGI, Aboitiz Power, Lepanto B (open to foreign investors) and Philex Mining.

Budget airline operator Cebu Air bucked the day’s upswing.

The local market reflected the upbeat trading on Wall Street overnight. The Dow Jones Industrial Index surged by another 183.38 points or 1.68 percent to finish at 11,123.33 on Thursday.

Paul Joseph Garcia, senior vice president at Bank of the Philippine Islands, said while it may be difficult for the index to retest the 4,550 highs seen in August, a key support level at 3,720 was holding up well. “There’s a good chance that we’re bottoming out,” he said.