Philippine stocks rebound, post biggest gain since 2007

The Philippine stock market on Wednesday posted its biggest single-day gain since 2007 after investors flocked the depressed stocks. The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index jumped by 5.7 percent or 329.88 points to 6,118.94. The broader all-share index rallied by 4.77 percent or 171.03 points to 3,759.67. Trading volume reached 1.58 billion shares worth 9.63 billion pesos (221.74 million U.S. dollars) with 146 stocks advancing, 34 declining, and 30 unchanged. \"Against a backdrop of solid fundamentals that have not changed even amidst the volatility in the past weeks, the declines have served to put some stocks at attractive prices. I think this is what we saw today with the strong recovery of the market,\" PSE Chairman Jose T. Pardo said. The latest figure marks the PSEi\'s biggest one-day point increase on record since August 2007 and also bested the rise in other Asian markets for the day and was significantly higher than the Jakarta Composite, which posted a 3.9 percent gain. The local brokerage said in a statement that this was supported by positive news on the U.S. economy and the encouraging income performance of listed companies in the first quarter. Year-to-date, the PSEi returned to positive territory posting a 5.3 percent increase after finishing 2012 at 5,812.73 points. \"Volatility is a natural effect of uncertainties that have arisen due to what some perceive to be significant policy announcements in other parts of the world. When the market goes past the overreaction phase, countries with strong fundamentals and buffers against uncertainties should be able to stay the course of their growth. The causes for the Philippines\' impressive growth continue to persist and should remain strong moving forward, \" Pardo added. A recent PSE study showed that listed firm earnings continue to improve on last year\'s impressive showing as net incomes rose by 23 percent year on year on aggregate in the first quarter of 2013. Total revenues for the first three months likewise grew by 15.4 percent. Analyst Justino Calaycay of Accord Capital Equities Corp. however added that it remains to be seen whether the sell-off has indeed \"dried up.\" Calaycay said the bias is to wait for the selling to be finished and for prices to stabilize while waiting for the buying season to begin again. Stocks in the 30-company index were mostly up. These include SM Investments Corp., index heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., and Ayala Land, Inc.