P.M. BRIEFING : Dragon Sparks Manila Stocks

Chinese traders staged a dragon dance on the trading floor today and placed good-luck symbols on the big board as they celebrated the Chinese New Year with a buying spree on the Manila Stock Market.

Dealers said trading was slow until Chinese-Filipinos began placing orders in anticipation of good luck during the Chinese New Year celebration, which began today.

The Manila Composite Stock Index of 25 selected issues rose 12.23 points to 874.71, up 1.41% from Thursday’s close. The index lost 3.53 points Thursday. Traders said most of the orders were from Chinese-Filipinos.

Chinese brokers placed red paper bags printed with a golden dragon beside the names of selected stocks on the trading board for good luck in the New Year. That was followed by a dragon dance in which brokers threw money and set off firecrackers.