Philippine stocks breach 5,800, a historic high

PSE index as of 3:46 PM, December 11, 2012. Screengrab from https://pse.com.ph/

MANILA, Philippines—The  rally in the stock market resumed on Tuesday, allowing the index to breach 5,800 for the first time in history.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index surged by 73.96 points, or 1.29 percent, to close at a new all-time high of 5,831.50, which was likewise the day’s peak. The index thus marked a record high for the 37th time this year as investors took advantage of the previous day’s dip to take position ahead of rosy prospects for 2013.

The counter that benefited most from the day’s upswing was the holding firm sub-index (+2.33 percent).  The mining/oil (+1.46 percent) and property (+1.93 percent) counters also fared well. Only the industrial counter ended a tad lower.

Value turnover amounted to P7.08 billion. There were 87 advancers versus 83 decliners while 47 stocks were unchanged.

Investors snapped up shares of BDO, ALI, PLDT, Metrobank, AC, EDC, RLC, SMIC, Megaworld, SM Prime, AGI, Meralco, BPI and MPI.

The biggest gainers among index stocks were Philex (+4.59 percent), SMIC (+4.29 percent), ALI (+3.84 percent), Globe (+2.58 percent) and Megaworld (+2.21 percent).

Among non-PSEi stocks, an outperformer was Puregold (+4.62 percent), which was seen as a key domestic consumer play.

Across the region, stock markets traded mostly higher in line with the seasonal yearend rally. Investors are focusing on China’s prospective stimulus in the coming year.