Philippine stocks rise after Wall Street gains
MANILA, Philippines — Philippine stocks rose yesterday, mirroring gains in the US market.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) was off to a strong start this week, rising by 79.93 points or 1.23 percent to finish at 6,583.47 yesterday.
The broader All Shares index likewise gained 28.04 points or 0.81 percent to close at 3,479.82.
The sectoral gauges, meanwhile, were mostly up except for the industrial sector. Mining and oil, property and holding firms led the gainers.
Juan Paolo Colet, managing director of China Bank Capital Corp. said Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Eli Remolona’s remarks that a policy rate cut was not possible in the first half of this year “was viewed positively by some investors who saw it as a signal that the Monetary Board was not totally closed to a dovish shift in the next few months.”
Total value turnover reached P4.6 billion and market breadth was positive, 94 to 85 while 48 issues were unchanged.
Shares were mixed in Asian markets yesterday after Wall Street returned to record heights Friday, while Hong Kong’s benchmark dropped over two percent, hovering near a 15-month low. European markets opened higher.
On Friday, the S&P 500 rallied 1.2 percent to its record of 4,839.81. The Dow Jones Industrial Average set its own record a month earlier, and it gained 1.1 percent to 37,863.80. The Nasdaq composite jumped 1.7 percent to 15,310.97.
Wall Street’s run-up was driven in part by hopes for rate cuts as US inflation remained tame. Treasury yields have already relaxed significantly on expectations for rate cuts, and that helped the stock market’s rally accelerate sharply in November.
The Fed itself has hinted that rate cuts are coming, though some officials have indicated they may begin later than the market is hoping for.
Friday’s lift for Wall Street came with a big boost from technology stocks, something that’s become typical in its run higher.
The US dollar inched up to 148.22 Japanese yen from 148.14 yen. The euro cost $1.0894, down from $1.0897.
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