Philippine stocks rally on overseas positive factor

The Philippine stock market is testing the 6,800 level again following U.S. Federal Reserve chief Janet Yellen's cue on the government's next move. The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index jumped by 1.21 percent or 82.05 points to 6,847.26, while the broader all-share index rallied by 0.88 percent or 35.77 points to 4,116.06. Trading volume reached 2.09 billion shares worth 11.89 billion pesos (272.61 million U.S. dollars) with 116 stocks advancing, 72 declining, and 35 were unchanged. Of the six counters, only the mining and oil sectors bucked the trend. "Investors re-tested the local index's resiliency to trounce past 6,800, with prime catalyst from Fed chief Yellen's indication on monetary policy," 2TradeAsia.com said in its daily stock market comment. Yellen told the U.S. Congress that the U.S. economy might still be in need of support given the lackluster performance of the labor market. 2TradeAsia.com said any indication of reaffirmation of stimulus support will be lauded, as the backdrop would support the prevailing low interest rate environment. The brokerage added that it expects financial and property stocks to lead the rally, as well as firms with good first quarter earning results. Stocks in the 30-company index were up. Among the most actively traded issues were heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., Ayala Land, Inc., and SM Investments Corp.