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THE peso and the stock market on Wednesday regained
their footing after the US Federal Reserve cut its interest rates in
a surprise move that raised hopes of a similar action by the Bangko
Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
Local share prices closed sharply
higher on Wednesday as bargain-hunters swooped in, following a
seven-day downturn and Monday’s massive global sell-off, dealers
said.
The US Federal Reserve’s 75
basis-point cut in interest rates also cheered the market but
investors quickly locked in gains, reflecting their guarded optimism
following Tuesday’s global sell-off.
The composite index closed 79.85
points higher at 3,058.26 off a high of 3,094.05. Volume amounted to
2.5 billion shares worth P4.5 billion.
Advancers overwhelmed decliners
107 to 24, while 30 stocks were unchanged.
The broader all-share index
gained 38.73 points to close at 1,894.12, after hitting a high of
1,911.15.
Philippine Long Distance
Telephone Co. (PLDT), the country’s biggest company by market
value, rose P20 to P2,585, off a high of P2,680.
Ayala Corp., the country’s
largest conglomerate, gained P7.50 to close at P450, off a high of
P460.
Conglomerate JG Summit Holdings
Inc advanced 80 centavos to P10.50.
Food and beverage conglomerate
San Miguel Corp.’s A-shares, reserved for Filipinos, rose 50
centavos to P54.50. Its B-shares, which have no ownership
restriction, gained 50 centavos to P55.
Prince Yeung, AB Capiptal
Securities analyst, said that local traders took their cue from
their counterparts across Asia.
Yeung said investors are somewhat
safe if they put their money in high dividend-paying firms like PLDT
and Globe Telecom Inc., which closed stronger by P30 to P1,500.
These stocks would give the
investor returns even if he cannot trade it for the meantime since
“you cannot rely on capital gains alone in this environment,”
the analyst said.
Mining stocks are less attractive
at this point due to dropping gold and copper prices in the world
market but this scenario would not last long. These stocks remain
good buys for this year, especially with China’s appetite for raw
commodities like metals.
April Lee-Tan of Citiseconline
said the markets are somehow confused even with the signals that the
US Fed are giving the markets. She still sees the local market
falling within the next few days, but not as fast as in recent
sessions.
At the Philippine Dealing System,
the peso opened at 41.30 before closing at 41.25 to the dollar.
Trading volume reached $817.5 million.
“The fear of a US recession has
not really disappeared. People are still jittery,” Jonathan
Ravelas, a Banco de Oro trader said.
Ravelas said the peso would range
from 41.15 to 41.30 for every greenback today.
--AFP, Likha C. Cueavs-Miel and Chino S. Leyco
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