Philippine stocks surge on positive US performance

The Philippine stock market mimicked the performance of the U.S. equities on Wednesday as it climbed back near the 6,600 level. The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index gained 0.82 percent or 53.76 points to 6,597.21, while the broader all-share index rose by 0.39 percent or 15.64 points to 3,977.43. Trading volume reached 1.69 billion shares worth 6.48 billion pesos (150.38 million U.S. dollars) with 81 stocks advancing, 78 declining and 35 were unchanged. Of the six counters, only the mining and oil sector bucked the trend. Analyst Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said the rally of the Dow Jones the previous day gave investors reason to re-enter the equities. The Dow Jones industrial average index is now just 50-points off its own all-time high. Calaycay added that investors are now looking again at the next move of the U.S. Federal Reserves as Ben Bernake presides over his second-to-the-last meeting before turning over the reins to his successor, Janet Yellen. "Markets anticipate the Fed will leave QE3 pace unchanged. In fact, in the markets' estimation, a reduction in the stimulus may not happen until March 2014," he said. 2TradeAsia.com advises investors to spot for good fourth quarter contenders, especially as local companies roll out their plans next year. Stocks in the 30-company index were mostly picked up. These issues include heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., Ayala Land, Inc. and Banco de Oro Unibank, Inc.