The worst is over!

Nah, I'm just practicing. :) Poor, old Philippine Stock Exchange needs confirmation. A good day in the US is not enough for a rebound. Yeah, it's either that or the country's premier financial market can't see Confidence even if it stares him in the eye.

Despite a .75% cut in interest rates by the Federal Reserve and better than expected earnings reports from two otherwise ailing companies, Lehman Brothers (LEH, Fortune 500) and Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500), that fueled a 420-point spike for Dow, plus a record-breaking $17.9B IPO of VISA, the PSEi only posted minimal gains. Better market performance during Wednesday and Thursday trading in the US might give a much needed local boost, but it certainly won't be fooled by another March 11 "could-be."

VALUE		CHANGE	% CHG
PSEi	2,817.58	40.16	1.4459
All Shares	1,735.70	21.63	1.2619
Financials	676.53	11.56	1.7384
Industrial	3,518.28	6.26	0.1776
Holding Firms	1,511.75	27.61	1.8603
Property	1,027.29	24.14	2.4064
Services	1,574.62	26.50	1.7118
Mining & Oil	6,828.29	46.60	0.6778