Index continues to decline

MANILA, Philippines - Local stocks declined for a fourth day yesterday despite Dow’s strong rebound and favorable economic news about third quarter performance.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index fell 27.05 points to 4,097.49, but the broader all-share index rose 11.19 points to 2,816.30.

Losers beat gainers, 74 to 53, while 42 stocks were unchanged.

A total of 1.10 billion shares worth P5.35 billion were traded.

At mid-trade, the government announced the country’s gross domestic product grew by 6.5 percent in the third quarter from a year ago, weaker than market expectations and slower than the growth in the first two quarters.

Meanwhile, US stocks soared on Wednesday as traders set aside global concerns to focus on a slew of local economic data offering a broadly positive picture ahead of the all-important holiday shopping season.

Retailers led the way, as data pointed to increased consumer spending and an improved jobs market as the retail buying season gets into full swing.

Amazon shares were up 5.3 percent, followed by high-end jeweler Tiffany (up 5.3 percent) — boosted by a sharp increase in reported sales — and eBay (up 3.4 percent).

The blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied 150.91 points (1.37 percent) to 11,187.28 at the close. The S&P 500 index, a broader measure of the market, gained 17.62 points (1.49 percent) to 1,198.35.

A strong showing by online retailers helped lift the Nasdaq 48.17 points (1.93 percent) to 2,543.12.

The tone was set early in the day as traders pored over a raft of data, some good, some bad and in the case of durable goods and housing figures — some ugly.

Positive news came from the jobs market, where US unemployment claims fell more than expected last week by 34,000 from the previous week to 407,000, compounding a choppy, but steady downward trend seen in recent weeks.

Another report showed US consumers earned and spent more in October, raising expectations ahead of the holiday shopping season which traditionally begins on “Black Friday” following Thursday’s Thanksgiving holiday.

That was enough to set aside doubts about the eurozone and tensions on Korean Peninsula.

“Sentiment is rebounding somewhat from yesterday’s uneasiness toward the skirmish between North and South Korea and as euro-area debt concerns fester,” said analysts at Charles Schwab.

But at the same time, data showed that orders for large manufactured goods such as planes, cars, home appliances and computers, fell sharply last month by 3.3 percent to $196.8 billion.

And sales of new US homes plunged a whopping 8.1 percent in October, much more than anticipated, dealing a fresh blow to the struggling housing market.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond rose to 2.91 percent from 2.76 percent on Tuesday, while that of the 30-year bond was up to nearly 4.30 percent from 4.17 percent. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.