Philippine stocks tumble ahead of Lenten break

MANILA, Philippines — The stock market tumbled again yesterday ahead of the five-day Lenten break.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index retreated by 57.95 points or 0.89 percent to close at 6,472.04. Likewise, the broader All Shares index eased by 16.47 points or 0.47 points to settle at 3,481.96.

The sectoral indexes were mostly in the red except for the property sector.

“Investors began selling local equities before the five-day break and right before the release of inflation (today), “ Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital said.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas expects the March inflation to settle within the range of 7.4 to 8.2 percent. The central bank’s projection is lower than the 8.6 percent inflation print rec-orded in February.

Meanwhile, most regional markets were up yesterday but concerns about the impact of surging oil prices on inflation tempered data indicating a slowing US economy that could allow the Federal Reserve to ease back on its interest rate hikes.

Crude built on Monday’s surge of more than six percent that came after top producers announced a surprise output cut, providing a fresh headache for central bankers as they battle inflation.

Regional investors were given a positive lead from Wall Street, where the S&P 500 and Dow chalked up healthy gains after a closely watched gauge of US factory activity from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) missed forecasts and showed a fifth consecutive month of contraction.

Analysts said the figures suggested the world’s top economy was showing signs of slowing down and could give the Fed room to ease up on its rate-hiking cycle.

Eyes are now on US jobs data due Friday that will provide the latest snapshot of the economy and the effects of monetary tightening.

Last month’s turmoil in the banking sector had increased bets that monetary policymakers would pause their tightening early, while news Friday that US inflation – as judged by the Fed’s favored measure – eased further in February had given dealers an extra spring.

However, OPEC’s shock weekend announcement of a production cut of more than a million barrels a day sent inflation fears soaring again as oil prices jumped more than six percent.