Bourse recovers on Wall Street's rally

MANILA, Philippines (Xinhua) - The Philippine stock market opened the week on a positive note after Wall Street rallied today.

The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index gained 1.11 percent, or 76.32 points, to 6,956.66, while the broader all-share index rose by 0.84 percent, or 34.58 points, to 4,163.68.

Trading volume reached 1.74 billion shares worth P9.88 billion ($223.86 million) with 104 stocks advancing, 73 declining, and 46 were unchanged.

All six counters were up.

Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. said investors found some reason to push the buy button today after the 185-point rally of the Dow Jones industrial average index.

Analysts attributed Wall Street's rally to Russia's pronouncement that it has ended military drills near Ukraine.

"Our view from the domestic end may have been tamed, particularly as growth forecast is trimmed, but it remains positive," Calaycay said.

He said that the index is already within their year-end target range even if the broader economy and corporate earnings have fallen short of expectations.

Nevertheless, Calaycay said external risks remain high and this might offer investors another reason for the next sell-off.

Stocks in the 30-company index were mostly up. These include heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., Ayala Land, Inc. and SM Investments Corp.