The Philippine Stock Market - April 15, 2009

Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) Summary
Index Value: 7,920.18
Trade Time: Apr 14
Change: Down 137.63 (-1.71%)
Prev Close: 8,057.81
Open: 8,057.41
Day's Range: 7,902.26 - 8,057.41

WallStreet fell on news that US Retail Sales for March fell unexpectedly as jobs evaporate.

*****The DJIA is still within striking distance of the 8000 level. A technical analyst sees that the current US rally still has legs to continue; as charts indicate that the S&P (now at 840) just broke above its 80 day moving average (m.a.) and may target its 100 day m.a. at around 1000. Another analyst sees the S&P at 1100 by year-end. The current rally though is still a bear-market rally and we may still see pullbacks.

The local equities market again traded lower. The big drop in the DJIA had the Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) test the 2000 level.

******The PSEi was among the leaders in the asean region as it rose more than 6% in the 1st quarter of 2009. Investor confidence can be sustained if the key 2000 level proves to be a strong support.

PSEi previous close - 2037.09 (April 14)

time----------down-----------PSEi
9:31----------5.95---------2031.14
9:37----------9.09
9:43---------13.05
9:57---------15.98
10:12--------19.14---------2017.95

10:18--------13.50
10:35--------10.69
10:41--------15.09

10:43--------11.50
10:46--------12.75
10:58--------14.30
11:03--------15.66
11:23--------16.71
11:30--------18.28
11:44--------18.79
11:46--------20.22
11:52--------21.86--------2015.23 (day's low)
12:01--------14.60--------2022.49 (-0.72%)
Market Close.

Value turnover: PhP 1.926 bn
Cross transactions: PhP 780 mn

Advancers 50
Decliners 32
Unchanged 51

The 2000 level is still holding and the broader market was even higher; as Advancers outnumbered Decliners for the day.

Sectoral Indices:
Services -1.66%
Industrial -1.64%
M-O -0.55%
Financial -0.17%
Holdings +0.69%
Property +1.99%

The Day's Top Gainers:
BCB: PhP 4.50; +38.10%
AAA: PhP 0.18; +20.00%
VUL: PhP 0.78; +11.43%

The Day's Biggest Decliners:
SCC: PhP 24.00; -18.64% (ex-date for cash div of PhP 6.00)
OMW2: PhP 0.0050; -16.67%
ICTV: PhP 1.00; -16.67%
OM: PHP 0.01; -9.09%

At mid-day:
Asian equities markets were mostly down.
The Philippine Peso was at PhP 47.856 vs US$ 1.00.


CLOSING PRICES OF SELECT STOCKS (as of April 15, 2009):
ABA: PhP 0.93
ALI: PhP 5.80
DGTL: PhP 1.04
EDC: PhP 3.30
EIBA: PHP 0.22
FLI: PhP 0.40
GEO: PhP 0.46
GOB: PhP 0.17
JOH: PhP 1.00
LOTO: PhP 9.10
MEG: PhP 0.61
MPI: PhP 3.25
MUSX: PhP 0.09
PAX: PhP 0.89
PX: PhP 5.80
SPH: PhP 2.70
SUN: PhP 0.26
TA: PhP 0.85
UW: PhP 0.07
WEB: PhP 0.046





From part of an article in the Internet: DOW JONES and the S&P

Indexes are not interchangeable. Identical moves by component stocks can produce different results in two indexes -- even if they track the same market or market segment -- depending on how those stocks are measured and weighted. An investor who doesn't bother to understand these methodological differences is setting himself up for an unpleasant surprise sooner or later.

The Dow is, in effect, a concentrated portfolio. The S&P 500 is much broader, though not nearly as broad as some other benchmarks such as the Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index, which includes every listed stock in the United States. Both approaches are valid in that they achieve industry diversification, but sometimes the concentrated style will do better than the broad method, and sometimes vice versa. Choosing one or the other is a matter of personal preference, but don't expect to come out on top all the time.

Be aware of the smaller-stock factor in the S&P 500. This index, like the Dow, is commonly thought of as being composed of "big" companies (notwithstanding what has happened to some of those stocks lately). But the S&P 500 contains (as of March 31) 272 stocks classified as midcaps or small-caps by Dow Jones Indexes, with market caps ranging down below $500 million. So, even though the big stocks dominate the S&P 500's movements, the smaller stocks can act as headwinds (as in 2008) or tailwinds to impede or enhance overall performance.

John Prestbo is editor and executive director of Dow Jones Indexes, a unit of Dow Jones & Co., Inc., publisher of MarketWatch. Scott Lang contributed research to this report.