Philippine exchange begins extended hours

The Philippine Stock Exchange marked the first day of trading in 2012 by extending its trading into the afternoon in a bid to attract more foreign cash, the exchange and traders said on Monday. Previously operated only until noon, the bourse in the capital Manila will now stay open till 3:30pm (0730 GMT). "The goal of the exchange was really to tap into the foreign investors who would be present in the market during the afternoon in Manila time," said Jose Vistan of AB Capital Securities. "There is growing interest in emerging economies like the Philippines with the prospects of possibly getting upgraded in terms of our credit rating," he said. The Philippine exchange experimented with longer hours in February 2002, when trading was extended to 2:30pm. However, poor trading volumes forced the exchange to return to half-day trading by October. The market closed 0.57 percent, or 25.12 points, higher on Monday at 4,3907.08.