Stock market up 2.28% as players overlook Batasan blast

Philippine shares rose sharply on Wednesday mimicking Wall Street’s rise overnight, as players bought bargain blue chips like Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. and Globe Telecom. Analysts said the market largely overlooked the explosion at the Batasang Pambansa on Tuesday nigh, which killed one representative and two other people. The blast also injured two others. The Philippine Stock Exchange composite index jumped 82.13 points or 2.28 percent to 3,681.62, while the all shares index gained 38.66 points or 1.74 percent at 2,258.85. PLDT gained P25 or 0.83 percent at P3,030 while main rival Globe Telecom added P35 or 2.13 percent at P1,675. Wall Street shot overnight, lifting the Dow Jones industrials nearly 320 points after reassuring news from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. quelled some of the market's worst fears about the United States credit crisis and its economy. "Basically the market was bound for a rally because of an oversold condition. Hong Kong, China and the US plunged for a few days, so there really was going to be a technical reaction. For the short-term we're going to see a rally but in the medium-term we're going sideways," Summit Securities president Harry Liu said. "The blast at the Batasang Pambansa, had some impact but was largely ignored because of the US rally. It has also gotten to the mind of the investors that it was a personal attack. The market looked at it not as a serious concern but a serious situation on the peace and order here, which has already been a problem to begin with," he added. Gainers clobbered losers 90 to 28 while 43 stocks were unchanged. Volume traded reached 3.22 billion valued at P4.90 billion. Tuna exporter Alliance Tuna International Inc. gained jumped P0.08 or 4.30 percent to P1.94. Mining company Lepanto’s A shares surged P0.07 or 17 percent to P0.48. - GMANews.TV