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Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Low pressure area to bring rains to Palawan, Visayas, Mindanao—PAGASA - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Low pressure area to bring rains to Palawan, Visayas, Mindanao—PAGASA - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

Philippines Markets: 12 October 2010

12 October 2010

USD/PhP: 43.64 + 0.04 PSEi: 4166.52 - 52.31
USD/JPY: 81.92 PFINC: 942.28 - 9.04
EUR/USD: 1.3837 BDO: 59.75 - 0.20
GBP/USD: 1.5876 BPI: 55.00 + 0.05
PDSTF3M: 4.0173 + 0.0135 MBT: 72.75 - 1.75
Prices as of 4:00pm Source: Bloomberg, Reuters


Roundup: Philippine stocks extend decline Tuesday

MANILA, Oct 12, 2010 (Xinhua via COMTEX) -- The Philippine
market extended its decline on Tuesday after investors decided
to continue booking their gains for the third consecutive time.
The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index tumbled by
1.23 percent or 52.31 points to 4,166.52, while the broader all-
share index lost 1.06 percent or 28.50 points to 2,659.75.
Trading volume reached 1.43 billion shares worth 6.08
billion pesos (140.09 million U.S. dollars). Decliners swept
advancers 101 to 41 while 25 stocks did not move.
Of the six counters, the property sector suffered the
biggest blow following the Philippine Stock Exchange's
announcement that the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) will
not push through this year and after the Finance Department has
requested some changes.
"The market declined due to lack of leads locally. The
U.S. market has been moving sideways, providing also little
incentives for investors to enter the equities," Juan Carlos
Garcia, analyst at 2TradeAsia.com, said in an interview.
Given the overbought level of the market, investors felt
it wise to book their gains and re-position their portfolios
ahead of the release of the third quarter earnings of the
companies later this month.
The third quarter results, coupled with the traditional
"Santa Claus" rally by December, will give impetus for the
equities to resume its uptrend, Garcia said.
"Right now, investors are looking which companies
performed well and will likely to perform well. Investors still
remain very bullish so we expect the market to pick up again,"
he added.
Property issues were among those that were sold down by
investors. Garcia said investors have been expecting the REIT
to push through this year.
"That was the main story of the property issues but then
again apparently, REIT listing will not happen this year,"
Garcia said.
REIT is a publicly-listed corporation that will invest in
income-producing real estate assets like apartments, office
buildings, and warehouses.
Stock price of Ayala Land, Inc., Philippines' largest
property firm, tumbled by 3.44 percent, while Filinvest Land,
Inc. lost 2. 18 percent of its value. Megaworld Corp. was also
down by 2.6 percent.
Heavyweight Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co., Energy
Development Corp. and the Philippine National Bank also
finished lower.


Copyright 2010 XINHUA NEWS AGENCY

Jonathan Ravelas
Chief Market Strategist
(632) 858-3145

Rhys Cruz
Junior Researcher

(632) 858-3001

Oro Traders Laud Aquino Gov't

The Cagayan de Oro Chamber of Commerce and Industry Foundation, Inc. (Oro Chamber) has rated a seven points out of ten to President Aquino on his 100 days in MalacaƱang. In their post 100-day evaluation, Oro Chamber president Ralph Paguio said that the stock market is on the upswing and the government bonds being offered were all sold, an indication of a better economic condition in the country. “This is an indication of confidence by both local and international business sectors,“ Paguio said.

Archbishop Antonio Ledesma of the Archdiocese of this city said that the President has yet to deliver what is expected of him adding that the period of 100 days is not enough. In the latest Social Weather Station (SWS) survey, 71 percent were satisfied with President Aquino while 11 percent said otherwise with a net satisfaction score of +60. In Mindanao, President Aquino got a +57 net satisfaction rating which was translated into 67 percent satisfied and 15 percent dissatis faction.

Morning Brief: 12 October 2010



DOF calls for credit upgrade, says RP deserving

The Department of Finance said the Philippines deserves a credit rating higher than the current two to three notches below investment grade.

According to the DOF, the current ratings “are no longer reflective of the actual confidence of the international credit market” given the country’s improving macroeconomic fundamentals.

The Philippines is rated three notches below investment grade by Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s, and two notches below investment grade by Fitch Ratings.

All three, however, have assigned a “stable” outlook on the Philippines, indicating that so far, there are no threats of a credit-rating downgrade.

The outlook is backed partly by the country’s rising dollar reserves, which have recently breached the $50-billion mark.

In an interview, Finance Undersecretary Gil Beltran noted that spreads on sovereign bonds of the Philippines were tighter than those for bonds issued by some developing Asian countries with better credit ratings.

“Our bonds are rated 30 to 55 basis points lower than those for Indonesia. The borrowers are giving us better ratings than the credit rating firms themselves,” Beltran said in an interview.

Although ratings firms supposedly assess credit standing of issuers to guide investors in their investment decisions, Beltran said investors were giving a better assessment of the Philippines, even without the backing of credit ratings.

He noted that the recently issued peso-denominated global bonds, which fetched an interest rate of 5 percent at the primary issuance, are now being traded in the secondary market for around 4.4 percent.

Major international credit-rating firms, however, still consider debt instruments from the Philippines speculative.

Ratings firms have said that while some of the country’s macroeconomic fundamentals are improving—such as the GIR and the gross domestic product—the country’s debt remains high at over 50 percent of the country’s GDP.

Reducing the debt-to-GDP ratio, they said, would make it easier for the country to get a more favorable credit rating.

The last time the Philippines got a rating upgrade was in July last year, when Moody’s raised its credit rating for the country by a notch.


Most U.S. Stocks Gain on Bets Fed Will Act to Stimulate Economy

Most U.S. stocks climbed, as trading volume sank to the lowest level of the year, amid growing speculation that the Federal Reserve will pump more cash into the economy to protect the recovery.

Boeing Co., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and International Business Machines Corp. rose more than 0.5 percent, leading gains in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Gymboree Corp. surged 22 percent after Bain Capital LLC agreed to buy the children’s clothing retailer agreed for about $1.8 billion. Tyson Foods Inc. fell for a second day amid concern its feed costs will rise.

In the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index, 268 companies rose and 224 fell at 4 p.m. New York time. The measure increased less than 0.1 percent to 1,165.32. The Dow advanced 3.86 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 11,010.34. Trading volume on U.S. exchanges amounted to 5.62 billion shares.

“The Federal Reserve has made it very clear that they are intent on supporting the markets and that has set a floor,” said Oliver Pursche, co-manager of the GMG Defensive Beta Fund and president of Suffern, New York-based Gary Goldberg Financial Services, which manages $500 million.

U.S. stocks rallied last week, sending the Dow average above 11,000 for the first time since before the May 6 crash, after a report showed the economy created fewer-than-estimated private jobs in September, bolstering speculation the Fed will buy more debt to boost the economy. The S&P 500 rose 8.8 percent last month, its best September since 1939, as the central bank said it’s willing to ease monetary policy further.


Crude Oil Futures Decline in N.Y. as Dollar Strengthens Against Euro, Yen

Crude oil dropped, snapping a three- week rally that took prices to the highest levels since May, as the dollar strengthened against the euro and the yen, curbing the appeal of commodities as an alternative investment.

Oil fell as the dollar rose from an eight-month low against the euro and a 15-year low to the yen. The currency retreated earlier on speculation that the Federal Reserve will signal it’s willing to buy more government debt to spur economic growth. Petroleum supplies were near their highest level in 20 years.

“The market’s not that strongly supported by fundamentals, so people are watching things like the currency,” said Michael Lynch, president of Strategic Energy & Economic Research in Winchester, Massachusetts. “The dollar’s still low, but maybe people think we’re close to the bottom.”

Crude for November delivery lost 45 cents, or 0.5 percent, to settle at $82.21 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices increased 1.3 percent last week in the third consecutive weekly gain, the longest stretch since June. Futures have risen 15 percent in the past year.



Sources: Bloomberg, Reuters, www.inquirer.net, www.philstar.com, www.bworldonline.com, www.cnnmoney.com

Jonathan Ravelas
Chief Market Strategist
(632) 858-3145

Rhys Cruz
Junior Researcher

(632) 858-3001
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