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Tuesday, January 23, 2007
RP shares rise to highest in 10 years (3:12 p.m.)
MANILA -- Philippine shares rose for the fourth straight session to their highest in nearly 10 years Tuesday as a favorable economic and corporate outlook fueled investors' appetite for equities.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index rose 58.06 points or 1.9 percent to P3,199.34, its best finish since March 31, 1997. Tuesday's rally brings the total index gain to 5.2 percent in the last four sessions.
"Positive fundamentals, plus the result of the treasury bill auction, and the market setting a new 10-year high, all of those things helped boost the market," said AB Capital Securities research director Jose Vistan.
Blue chip Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDTC) was the most actively traded, rising 4.6 percent to P2,720 on heavy volume, boosted by the 0.9 percent gain in the company's American depositary receipts Monday.
Property and banking stocks also dominated trading following Monday's treasury auction, which saw benchmark yields hitting new record lows. The low interest rate environment is expected to stoke property demand and encourage bank lending.
SM Prime rose 4.4 percent to P12, while the Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) was up 0.7 percent at P70.50.
The market advance, however, was not broad based, with decliners leading advancers 64 to 53, as some investors cashed in on gains the market has piled up in the last four trading days. There were 54 stocks unchanged.
Geothermal producer Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC)-Energy Development was down 3.9 percent at P5, while holding company Benpres gave up 1.9 percent to close at P2.65. (AP) |
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