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MANILA, Philippines - (UPDATED 5:19 p.m.) Philippine stocks on Wednesday climbed to a fresh record after the US and China reported positive manufacturing data.
The Philippine Stock Exchange composite index rose 26.14 points or 0.5 percent to a new all-time high of 5,228.84, surpassing the previous record of 5,218.97 on April 26, and marking the 18th time that the main index has rewritten record levels this year.
Year-to-date, the PSEi has gained 856.88 points or 19.6 percent. Intraday, the benchmark index reached another record of 5,269.97, beating the April 26 finish at 5,247.14.
Gainers beat losers, 95 to 79, with 33 stocks unchanged. A total of 3.51 billion shares worth P17.86 billion changed hands, including a block sale of shares in Bloomberry Resorts Corp.
“Strong manufacturing numbers from China and the US cast aside fears of slowing economic activity, and the sentiment rippled across global markets," Hans B. Sicat, PSE president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
"These and expectations of supportive inflation numbers augur well for the continued rally of our market into a record-setting pace,” he said.
Overnight, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 65.69 points or 0.50 percent to 13,279.32, its highest level in more than four years. This was fuelled by a faster-than-expected expansion in US manufacturing in April that eased concerns about a slowdown in the recovery of the world's biggest economy.
"The optimism is still there. Local earnings continue to trickle in, encouraging buyers to enter the market," said Astro del Castillo, managing director at First Grade Finance Inc.
He said the market may be ripe for a correction.
Actively-traded stocks were Bloomberry, Alliance Global Group Inc., Ayala Land Inc., Universal Robina Corp. and Security Bank Corp.
Bloomberry became the day's biggest loser after selling shares at a discount. The stock shed 24.92 percent to P9.01 apiece.
Federal Resources Investment Group Inc. was the day's biggest gainer, rising 38.14 percent to P16.30 each.
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