PH market up for 4th straight day

MANILA, Philippines—Local share prices rose for the fourth straight day, tracking gains posted by other Asian shares as Europe’s largest economies made pledges to provide aid to the region’s weakened banking sector.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose 1.7 percent, or 68.69 points, to 4,109.27, while the broader all-share index jumped 1.17 percent, or 33.77 points, to 2,912.50.

All sub-indices closed higher, led by services, which rose by 1.84 percent, or 26.01 points, to 1,437.60, followed by property shares, which  increased by 1.82 percent, or 25.84 points, to 1,442.63.

A local brokerage firm noted that investors’ risk appetite may return following the reassurance of monetary authorities in both Europe and the US that they were ready to provide funds for recapitalization and additional stimulus if the recovery continued to falter.

On Monday night, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 2.97 percent, while the Standard & Poor’s and Nasdaq indices climbed 3.41 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively.

Among the day’s top gainers were Empire East Land (10.17 percent), Manila Electric Co. (5.56 percent) and Robinsons Land (5.22 percent).

Leading the list of losers was Boulevard Holdings Inc., which shed more than 35 percent after announcing on Tuesday that its potential megadeal with South Korean investors fell through.

Advancers edged decliners 75 to 67, while 34 stocks were unchanged.—Paolo G. Montecillo