Thursday, October 04, 2007
Shares climb 0.15% as investors await decision on interest rates (4:50 p.m.)
MANILA -- Philippine shares climbed Thursday, led by foreign buying, as investors speculated the country's central bank may cut key interest rates.
The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange Index rose 5.64 points, or 0.15 percent, at 3,775.46, extending a 15 percent rise since the middle of September.
"An unchanged stance by the central bank will prompt investors to lock in gains from the market's rally. A rate cut, meanwhile, may inspire some more buying even if the market is already at an overbought level," said Ron Rodrigo, head of research at Unicapital Securities.
The benign inflation outlook and the US Federal Reserve's hefty rate cut September 18 provided room for the central bank to cut rates in a meeting later Thursday, he said.
Conglomerate SM Investments Corp. rose 4.5 percent to P407.50. Globe Telecom Inc. jumped 3.9 percent to a new record finish of P1,600 ahead of its third-quarter earnings results.
PNOC-Energy Development Corp. advanced 10.3 percent to a record high P7.50 ahead of the government's sale of its majority stake in the geothermal producer.
Decliners outnumbered gainers 63 to 61, while 43 issues were unchanged. (AP)
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