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Friday, May 04, 2007
Shares rise, lifted by blue chips ahead of quarterly earnings (6:20 p.m.)
MANILA -- Philippine shares rose modestly Friday, lifted by blue chips expected to post solid first-quarter earnings reports.
The benchmark 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index gained 6.95 points, or 0.2 percent, at 3,278.48, after ending flat Thursday.
"We may see mild declines in the market next week given concerns over the upcoming elections," said RCBC Securities research manager Chelsea Dipasupil. Filipinos go to the polls May 14 to elect congressional and local officials.
Traders said the market shrugged off the mild acceleration in April inflation to 2.3 percent on-year from a seven-year low of 2.2 percent in March, as the inflation outlook for the full year remains benign.
Traders also expect the central bank to keep its headline overnight rates steady at a meeting on May 31.
Property developer Megaworld Corp. surged 4.4 percent at P3.55, while conglomerate SM Investments Corp. was higher by 2.8 percent to P3,650.
Advancers led decliners 52 to 40, while 67 stocks were unchanged.
The peso rose against the US dollar as some banks anticipated a robust build up of remittances of Filipino workers overseas ahead of the new school term that starts in June.
The dollar closed at P47.46, down from P47.590 on Thursday. (AP)
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