The local stock market performed better than most bourses in Southeast Asia in the first quarter despite a lingering global financial turmoil.
The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index, the main index barometer of overall stock market performance, gained 6.05 percent during the first three months to close at 1,986.22.
Except for the Jakarta Composite index which closed higher by 5.8 percent in the same period, the rest of the region sustained losses.
The Kuala Lumpur Composite index slipped 0.48 percent while the Straits Times Index of Singapore fell 3.5 percent in the first quarter.
The Stock Exchange of Thailand index declined 4.1 percent while the Vietnam Stock Index plunged 11.07 percent.
"We are not spared from the wrath of the contagion yet our strong fundamentals have kept our heads above-water where others have sunk in the recession whirlpool," PSE president and chief executive officer Francis Lim said in a press statement.
In March alone, the PSEi went up by 6.09 percent, its biggest month-on-month gain in almost a year-and-a-half.
At the close of trades yesterday, the PSEi’s closing level of 2,043.20 reflected a year-to-date growth of the index by 9.1 percent. - PDI
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