Philippine stocks surpass 6,400 to end at new record

Despite paring gains made earlier in the day, Philippine stocks ended trading at a fresh record, with good economic growth fueling expectations of better corporate results coupled with a run up in US markets. The benchmark PSEi traded at 6,400 levels for the first time, ending Monday up 1.86 percent or 117.37 points at 6,435.98, its 14th peak for the year. Monday's close eclipsed the earlier record 6,318.61 made last Friday. Broader all-shares index also rose 1.61 percent to 4,040.92. All sub-indices were in the positive territory led by holding firms that closed at 2.57 percent. Some 3.132 billion shares were traded at P11.18 billion. Gainers overwhelmed losers a130 to 50, while 35 stocks were unchanged. "The run up was a spill-over of last weeks good news and to some extent hopes that corporations will have a good showing," Angping & Associates Securities research head Juan Rafael Supangco said. Banco de Oro Unibank Inc. chief market strategist Jonathan Ravelas said, "Strong full-year 2012 growth and Q4 [fourth quarter] being buoyant investors are now anticipating good fourth quarter earnings result."   Last Thursday, the government reported that fourth quarter gross domestic product growth (GDP) hit 6.8 percent, lifting the full-year figure to 6.6 percent.   Ravelas noted that investors remain positive of the country's growth momentum. In line with Asian securities, the PSEi also tracked increases by US markets, Supangco said.   The equities market also absorbed the good news from the US markets.   On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average increased by 149.21 points or 1.08 percent to 14,009.79. It last traded at the the 14,000 levels in 2008.   Standard & Poor's 500 index and the Nasdaq composite index also increased by 1.01 percent and 1.18 percent, respectively. Supangco added that the Philippine market will be testing the 6,500 levels, noting that "enough liquidity will push the market to this direction should profit takers not overwhelm buyers." — BM, GMA News