Early window dressing lifts Phisix.

(From BusinessWorld (Philippines))

Byline: Roulee Jane F. Calayag

The Philippine stock market yesterday held the fort for a second time as it closed the short trading week ahead of the Christmas celebration.

Analysts told BusinessWorld that an early window dressing drove the benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange composite index (Phisix) to finish higher.

"There was a thin window dressing because most fund managers want to make their portfolios look better by helping big-cap issues to end in positive note," said Jose Vistan, Jr., research director of AB Capital Securities, Inc.

Ron Rodrigo, senior analyst at Accord Securities, Inc., likewise said that it was window dressing that helped the Phisix sustain its previous gains.

"The market closed higher due …