Philippine stocks rally despite concerns overseas

The Philippine stock market breached the 6,500 level on Tuesday despite some concerns overseas. The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index rose by 0.65 percent or 42.35 points to 6,529.58, while the broader all-share index added 0.47 percent or 18.50 points to 3,915.22. Trading volume reached 926 million shares worth 8.19 billion pesos (184.19 million U.S. dollars) with 87 stocks advancing, 78 declining and 41 unchanged. All six counters were up. "Except for the first month when prices started flat, rose then fell, February-to-date trades have been generally in the up. Investors are obviously keen on equities as return on alternative instruments are capped by the low-interest rate regime," analyst Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said in his daily stock market comment. Calaycay said while concerns over the Chinese economy and Ukraine hover, investors nevertheless found enough gumption to pick-up equities beaten by Monday's selling pressure. This renewed appetite for the local equities allowed local share prices to break past the 6,500 mark, sustaining the uptrend that marked the local equities since the December bottom. The analyst said overall, the investment climate has not changed save for the reality of the U.S. Federal Reserve tapering. Stocks in the 30-company index were mostly up. These include heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., SM Investments Corp., and Ayala Corp.