PSEi in 30th all-time high close on election results

As allies of President Benigno Aquino III seemed to have bagged majority of the senatorial seats in the partial and unofficial results to Monday's midterm elections, analysts on Tuesday said investors read the poll results as a confirmation of continuous economic reforms by the administration, pushing the main PSEi index to its 30th all-time high for the year. "Preliminary results continue to favor administration candidates, a validation of the President's mandate," Jonathan Ravelas, market strategist at BDO Unibank Inc., told GMA News Online in a text message. "This should see continuation of economic reforms needed to sustain the present gains. This lifted investor sentiment," he added. The election results, the second automated elections since the 2010, "somehow... contributed to the positive sentiment in the market." said Joanna Capiral, analyst at PAPA Securities Corp. "Most of them are from the administration side, and that will further boost the positive sentiments for reforms in government," Capiral noted. Lending further strength to the market was robust earnings for the first quarter, Capiral added. The benchmark PSEi gained 50.84 points or 0.70 percent to 7,313.46. The intraday record of 7,349.95 was posted 3:02 p.m. The broader all shares index went up by 18.44 points or 0.41 percent to 4,535.86. Except for holding firms and mining and oil, all indices were in the green. More than 1.47 billion shares valued at P10.02 billion changed hands. Advancers and declines were even at 81, however, while 50 stocks were unchanged. "Volume is a bit thin at 1.47 billion,” said Capiral. “Investors are staying on the sidelines, waiting for new leads to propel the market. Also valuations are already high so investors are cautious," she added. Senatorial race partial results Based on partial, unofficial tally as of 3:58 p.m., leading the senatorial race is Team PNoy candidate Grace Poe, and daughter of the late actor Fernando Poe Jr. who ran against the President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in the hotly contest 2004 elections . Next were Team PNoy candidates and re-electionists Loren Legarda, Chiz Escudero and Alan Peter Cayetano. Nancy Binay, of the oppositioinist United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) and daughter of incumbent Vice President Jejomar Binay, snagged the fifth place. Other Team PNoy bets in senatorial race were Sonny Angara at sixth, Bam Aquino at seventh, Koko Pimentel at eighth and Antonio Trillanes IV at ninth. UNA senatorial bet JV Ejercito Estrada placed 10th, Team PNoy bet Cynthia Villar was 11th and UNA bet Gringo Honasan was 12th. "With about 75 percent of unofficial vote tallies, Aquino's allies are poised to gain control of the Senate, with his coalition winning nine of a dozen seats up for grabs," according to a Reuters report Tuesday. "He also keeps an overwhelming majority in the lower house of Congress, becoming the country's only President to enjoy a clear majority in Congress since democracy was restored in 1986," it added. The Aquino legacy Aquino—the only son of late president Corazon Aquino and her assassinated former senator husband, also called Benigno Aquino—won the presidency in 2010 on a platform of good governance and fighting corruption to cut poverty, Reuters said. “Consistently enjoying popularity ratings of more than 70 percent, he has overseen a revival of investor interest in the country thanks to strong growth rates, improving public finances and his anti-graft drive,” it added. The economy grew 6.6 percent in 2012, the fastest in Asia after China. Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan earlier said the growth figure surpassed expectations amid fiscal problems in the US and in Europe. Reuters also noted the Philippines narrowed its fiscal gap and earned credit rating upgrades to investment grade in the last two months. Fitch Ratings raised the Philippines' credit rating to investment grade on March 27, followed by Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on May 2, and Japan Credit Rating Agency Ltd. on May 7 raised the country's rating above the investment grade threshold of "BBB-" to "BBB." — With Reuters/VS, GMA News