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US budget deal pushes index past 5,900-mark

On the back of the successful US budget deal, the local market continued its upward momentum and went past the 5,900-mark.



On Thursday, the Philippine Stock Exchange index soared 1.25 percent or 73.06 points to 5,934.05, while the broader all-shares climbed 0.97 percent or 36.09 points to 3,762.88.

“The market’s action was an expected outcome given a 300-point rise in the Dow Jones overnight. Americans got their first chance to cheer the budget deal vote in the lower house,” Jun Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said.

“Moving ahead, pressures on the sell side have began to show, narrowing the days gains,” he added.

The sub-indices were buoyant as almost all of them gained 1 percent or more, surprisingly led by the mining and oil index, which went up by 1.66 percent, or 325.09 points to 19,927.40.

Property, on the other hand, ascended by 1.33 percent, or 30.65 points to 2,338.09, followed by the industrial index, which was up 1.13 percent or 101.54 points to 9,065.64.

Services also went up, rising 0.11 percent or 19.31 points to 1,765.83, while holding firms increased by 1.12 percent, or 58.65 points to 5,278.09. But the financials sector closed almost flat with a 0.95-percent gain, or 14.47 points to 1,543.91.

Market breadth remained upbeat after advancers beat losers anew, 121 to 47, while 43 shares were unchanged.

Top gainers on Thursday are Manchester International Holdings Unlimited Corp., which rose 22.46 percent and 20 percent for its preferred shares A and B, respectively; Swift Foods Inc., which increased 8.45 percent and Premiere Horizon Alliance Corp., which advanced 7.94 percent, among others.

On Wednesday, the PSEi marked the first trading session of the year with a fresh record close.

“Inflation expectations, coupled with an undeniably optimistic outlook for the domestic economy for the two-days old 2013, provided added boost,” Calaycay said.

Capital raised doubled
Meanwhile, capital raised at the PSE reached a record in 2012 to P219.07 billion, which is 103.8-percent higher than the amount raised in 2011.

 “The stock market’s performance in 2012 rewrote the record books in a big way, as seen in the new highs we’ve experienced across almost all market indicators. Investor confidence in Philippines Inc. is also at an all-time high and this can only serve to strengthen our market as we tackle new challenges and opportunities in 2013,” PSE President and Chief Executive Officer Hans Sicat said.

Capital raising activities included initial public offerings (IPOs), follow-on offerings, stock rights and private placements.

A total of five companies conducted their IPOs in 2012, raising a total of P23.99 billion from the market, while two listed firms listed by way of introduction.

Meanwhile, capital proceeds from private placement, stock rights offerings and follow-on offerings amounted to P50.38 billion, P52.07 billion and P92.64 billion, respectively.

Also, total value turnover for 2012 registered a new record for the exchange, reaching P1.77 trillion or 24.5-percent higher than the P1.42- trillion registered in 2011.

According to the PSE, the increase coincided with the extension of trading hours up to 3:30 p.m. starting January 2, 2012.

The combined market capitalization of listed issues in the PSE at yearend, on the other hand, totaled P10.93 trillion, up 25.7 percent from the P8.70 trillion registered in 2011.

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