Philippine shares close higher, buck Asian downtrend

Prospects of lower interest rates and better corporate earnings buoyed Philippine shares in active trading Wednesday that bucked the downtrend taken by Asian markets.   “Despite their concerns over Greece, investors are keeping their faith in emerging markets, and the fiscal dynamics are keeping the investors satisfied,” said Jonathan Ravelas, chief market strategist of BDO Unibank.   The first run of earnings reports, mostly by banks, showed better corporate results, and another 25 basis points off central bank policy rates starting in March will translate to less interest expense for companies, Ravelas noted.   These developments are pointing to a test of the 5,000 level, he added.   The main Philippine Stock Exchange index gained 33.35 points or 0.68 percent to close at 4,934.29   More than 19.499 billion shares valued at P9.117 billion were traded in the morning and afternoon sessions.   Winners outpaced losers 108 to 64, with 37 issues closing unchanged.   “Asia markets slipped on Wednesday as relief over Greece's latest bailout turned to doubts that the debt-stricken country can keep to its austerity program and concern about rising oil prices,” Reuters noted in a report.   MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.3 percent, having climbed 14 percent so far this year to rank among top asset performers.   "If you look at how much the equity market had already moved year to date, you'd expect the market to take a bit of a breather," said Markus Rosgen, head of Asia strategy at Citigroup in Hong Kong, in the Reuters report.   "Investors are undecided whether they should buy more or wait for a pullback," Rosgen said, adding markets were a bit overbought technically but valuations remained attractive.   In the case of the Philippine market, BDO’s Ravelas said stocks are currently trading at 17 to 18 times earnings.   However, based on technicals, the market is on the overbought side that profit-taking may be in the offing, he noted.   While positive sentiment and investors willingness to take risks are helping the market, “we are now susceptible to dips” on the way to the 5,000 mark on the PSEi, Ravelas added. — With Reuters, GMA News