The Philippine stock market rallied back to the 6,800 level on Wednesday after the Asian Development Bank (ADB) raised its outlook on the Philippine economy.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index jumped by 1.24 percent or 83.62 points to 6,815.84. The broader all-share index gained 1.09 percent or 45.89 points to 4,251.37.

Trading volume reached 2.61 billion shares worth 9.07 billion pesos (220.78 million U.S. dollars) with 108 stocks advancing, 56 declining, and 39 unchanged.

All six counters were up, led by the mining and oil sector which rallied by 2.35 percent.

"The composite index rose back to the 6,800 level on back of ADB's forecast that the Philippine economy will grow faster this year," DBP-Daiwa Securities, Inc. said in its daily stock market review.

The ADB on Wednesday said it expected the Philippine economy to grow 6 percent this year, higher than its initial forecast of 5 percent, on expectations of increased investment inflows due to investment grade rating.

But analyst Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said that some investors might still feel wary of investing aggressively as the pace and the state of recovery of the West remain uncertain.

"It is the external events that keep investors on their toes as sentiments toggle between optimism and pessimism on an almost daily basis," Calaycay said.

The index, he said, is technically challenged to rewrite index history in the short run. However, Calaycay said, investors cannot discount any surprises.

Stocks in the 30-company index were mostly up. Among the most actively traded issues were heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., Alliance Global Group, Inc., and Ayala Corp.

In other corporate news, leading property developer Megaworld Corp. is returning to the offshore bond market after two years with an offering of 10-year U.S. dollar-denominated debt paper to be listed on the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Ltd.

Megaworld disclosed Wednesday to issue a new batch of fixed- rate bonds which would mature in 2013. Investment bank UBS AG is the sole bookrunner for this new debt issuance. The size of the planned offering was not yet indicated.

Megaworld will use the proceeds from the bond sale for "general corporate purposes." The Megaworld group expects a record capital spending of 35 billion pesos (848.28 million U.S. dollars) this year and plans to launch more than 10 new projects in the first half of the year. Endi

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)