PHL shares rise to record territory for 2nd consecutive day; PSEi up 1.8%

Domestic fundamentals and positive sentiment from markets overseas drove Philippine shares into record territory for the second consecutive day Wednesday.   “The trading was fundamentally based and the surprisingly strong performance of major bourses abroad, driven by the surprising recovery of the US economy,” said Jovis Vistan, senior analyst and head of research at AB Capital Securities Inc.   The main Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) index soared 84.78 points or 1.85 percent to close at 4,645.86.   More than 4.246 billion shares valued at P8.476 billion were traded in the session.   Winners led losers 127 to 49, while 37 issues closed unchanged.   Expectations were high that the Philippines will soon get another credit rating upgrade, Vistan noted.   According to First Metro Investments Corp. an upgrade may possibly lift the country’s creditworthiness to invest grade.    “There is continuous buying, though there was some profit-taking yesterday, which shows the market is bullish,” said trader Jasper Jimenez of BDO Securities Inc.   The definitely the positive results of markets abroad helped the sentiment among Philippine investors, Jimenez said, noting that “everyone is also looking at fundamentals, and taking positions ahead of corporate earnings, expecting 2011 was a good year for Philippine companies.”   According to a Reuters report, US stocks climbed to a five-month high on Tuesday, led by materials stocks after an upbeat forecast by aluminum company Alcoa and strong gains in bank shares… The Dow Jones industrial average gained 69.78 points, or 0.56 percent, to 12,462.47.” — TJD, GMA News