Philippine bourse closes marginally higher

The Philippine stock market extended its rally, albeit marginally, on Tuesday as investors remain apprehensive of buying aggressively local issues. The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index gained 0.18 percent or 11.65 points to 6,454.86, while the broader all-share index rose by 0.15 percent or 5.82 points to 3,888.34. Trading volume reached 816 million shares worth 5.92 billion pesos (137.42 million U.S. Dollars) with 78 stocks declining, 64 advancing, and 41 unchanged. "Another flat session prevailed as there is still no clear signs yet on the U.S. government's budget ceiling deadlock," 2TradeAsia.com said in its daily stock market comment. The brokerage said buying was highly selective with investors heed for preliminary indications on the third quarter earnings results. With how the market is behaving, the brokerage said investors should stay alert for prospective volume surges. For now, unless there is a clearer indication on how the U.S. will fare, investors will likely remain at the sidelines. Stocks in the 30-company index were mostly down. Among those that bucked the trend were SM Investments Corp., Alliance Global Group, Inc., and Ayala Land, Inc.