Trading declines on US rate hike, higher inflation

May 9, 2022 | 12:01 am

INVESTORS remained cautious as stocks ended lower during the first week of May, driven by the US Federal Reserve’s rate hike, the release of local inflation data, and amid the upcoming national elections.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) sank by 109.02 points or 1.58% to close at 6,759.90 on Friday, while the broader all shares index dropped by 41.46 points or 1.13% to close at 3,621.70.

Week on week, the PSEi gained by 28.65 points from its close of 6,731.25 on April 29.

“The PSEi declined on May 6, 2022, the last trading day before the presidential elections,” Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said, adding that the drop is “similar to the recent declines in the US stock markets.”

In an e-mail, he said the market’s movement comes amid the continued increase in interest rates or bond yields that could increase borrowing and financing costs for some listed companies.

Mr. Ricafort added that this development “could also deliberately slow down the US and global economy with potential risk of recession as an unintended consequence in an effort to clamp down elevated inflation, in view of continued aggressive Fed rate hike or monetary tightening signals.”

Diversified Securities, Inc. Equity Trader Aniceto K. Pangan said in a text message, “The market moved in consolidation as the Fed increased policy rate by 50 basis-points (bps) as expected with thin trading with most investors on the sidelines, [and] as the Philippine election nears.”

Philstocks Financial, Inc. Senior Research Analyst Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said that the local market also fell on Friday following the negative cues from Wall Street’s overnight decline.

“This came as interest rates in the US rose with their 10-year bond yield breaching the 3.00% mark,” he added.

Wall Street’s main indexes extended losses on Friday and long-dated US treasury yield surged as investors worried that the Federal Reserve will need to be more aggressive than expected in raising interest rates to combat inflation, Reuters reported.

Tech-heavy Nasdaq registered its lowest close since 2020, notching a fifth straight weekly loss, its longest losing streak since the fourth quarter of 2012. The S&P 500 also posted its fifth straight weekly loss.

On Friday, two of the Federal Reserve’s most outspoken policy hawks pushed back on the view that the US central bank missed the boat on the fight against high inflation, citing a tightening of financial conditions that began well before the Fed began raising interest rates in March.

Earlier this week, the Fed raised its policy rate to a range of 0.75% to 1%. Critics say that is far too low to fight inflation running at three times the Fed’s 2% target, Reuters reported.

Back home, the local statistics authority released the country’s April inflation data on Thursday.

April’s inflation rose by 4.9% from 4% in March and 4.1% in April a year ago, primarily due to faster pickup in food, utilities, and transport prices.

This was higher than the 4.6% median estimate in a BusinessWorld poll last week and near the upper bound of the 4.2-5% forecast range given by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas for the month.

The stock market also closed on May 3, Tuesday in commemoration of Eid’l Fitr.

On Friday, the MidCap index retreated by 13.28 points or 1.18% to 1,116.11 and the Dividend Yield index lost 4.70 points or 0.29% to close at 1,614.94.

Decliners overwhelmed advancers, 107 versus 60, while 61 names ended unchanged.

Value turnover increased to P5.95 billion with 653.6 million shares changing hands from P5.68 billion with 1.06 billion issues seen on the previous day.

Foreigners turned sellers with P851.7 million from P135.2 million in net inflows seen on Thursday.

Philippine financial markets will be closed on May 9, Monday for the national elections. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson with Reuters

Blackwater Bossing eye big men Baltazar and Rosser

May 9, 2022 | 12:01 am

Justine-Baltazar — LA SALLE 6-foot-8 big man Justine Baltazar — PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

REBUILDING Blackwater is excited to exercise its rights for the top selection in the coming PBA Season 47 Rookie Draft with eyes on big men Justin Baltazar and Brandon Ganuelas-Rosser and backcourt dynamo Sedrick Barefield.

“For our No. 1 pick, we narrowed our choice among Baltazar, Barefield and Rosser,” Bossing coach Ariel Vanguardia told The STAR yesterday.

Mr. Baltazar, a 6-foot-8 La Salle standout capable of playing multiple positions, Mr. Barefield, a 6-foot-2 Fil-Am guard who played in the G League, and Mr. Rosser, a 6-foot-7 Fil-Am inside-outside operator, led the 75 hopefuls who have entered their names in the May 15 Draft.

The Bossing are determined to take advantage of their three first-round picks to beef up and turn their fortunes around after a woeful 46^th season that saw them skid to their 29^th straight loss. After choosing first, Mr. Vanguardia’s team takes the ninth and 10^th selections.

“The other two (first-round) picks will depend on our first pick. If we pick Mress. Baltazar or Rosser, we will look for a wing for the succeeding picks. If Mr. Barefield, we will be looking for bigs,” said Mr. Vanguardia.

The Bossing actually ended Season 46 on a bright note as they toppled top seed Magnolia Hotshots in their final elims assignment, 101-100, last March 9. This enabled the franchise to snap their league record skid and avert a winless season while building some momentum moving forward.

Blackwater and the 11 other ballclubs will get a closer look at their prospects during the Draft Combine on Wednesday and Thursday at the Gatorade Hoops Center in Mandaluyong. Draft proper will be on Sunday at Robinson’s Place Manila. — Olmin Leyba

Philippine trade year-on-year performance

May 9, 2022 | 12:00 am

THE country’s trade-in-goods deficit widened to a three-month high in March as imports outpaced exports which could dampen the economic output in the first quarter. Read the full story.

How PSEi member stocks performed — May 6, 2022

May 9, 2022 | 12:00 am

Here’s a quick glance at how PSEi stocks fared on Friday, May 6, 2022.

Analyst’s Q1 2022 GDP estimates

May 9, 2022 | 12:00 am

THE PHILIPPINE ECONOMY likely expanded in the first quarter thanks to favorable base effects and election spending, but the surge in global oil and commodity prices may have dampened growth momentum. Read the full story.

Warriors shoot 63.1% in Game 3 blowout of visiting Grizzlies

May 8, 2022 | 7:39 pm

Curry-NBA — GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS guard Stephen Curry (30) drives between Memphis Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke (15) and guard Ja Morant (12) during the first half of game three of the second round for the 2022 NBA playoffs at Chase Center. — REUTERS/ ROSS CAMERON-USA TODAY SPORTS

STEPHEN Curry, Jordan Poole and Klay Thompson combined for 78 points, and the Golden State Warriors rode an offensive masterpiece to a 142-112 victory over the visiting Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday night in San Francisco.

The Warriors take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference semifinal series.

Mr. Curry had a team-high 30 points, Poole 27 off the bench and Mr. Thompson 21 in his most productive effort of the series, helping Golden State run off to the first one-sided victory in the best-of-seven series.

Game 4 is scheduled for Monday night, also in San Francisco.

Coming off a 47-point explosion in a Game 2, Ja Morant led all scorers again with 34 points before taking the final 6:19 of the game off to have his right knee examined.

Mr. Morant suffered the injury seconds earlier when it appeared he clashed knees with Mr. Poole. The Memphis star played for about another minute, but then with his team down by 17 points, Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins pulled Mr. Morant and sent him straight to the locker room.

Mr. Morant and Jaren Jackson, Jr. combined for four of five Memphis 3-pointers in the game’s first five minutes as the Grizzlies burst out to an 18-8 lead.

The Grizzlies led by as many as 13 before Golden State dominated the final 42 minutes of the game, shooting 63.1 percent overall and 53.1 percent on 3-pointers.

Mr. Curry shot 7-for-14, Mr. Poole 11-for-17 and Mr. Thompson 8-for-13 for Golden State. Almost half of Curry’s scoring came on a 14-for-14 performance from the free-throw line.

On a night when he passed Paul Pierce and Kevin McHale to move into 21^st place on the NBA’s all-time postseason scoring list, Mr. Curry topped 30 points for the fourth time in these playoffs and 44^th time in his career.

Mr. Thompson was Golden State’s top shooter from beyond the arc, going 4-for-6. Mr. Thompson also found time for a game-high nine rebounds, while Draymond Green chipped in with five points, five rebounds and a game-high eight assists.

Jonathan Kuminga, who at age 19 became the youngest player in NBA history to start a playoff game, added 18 points for Golden State. Andrew Wiggins (17) and Otto Porter, Jr. (13) gave the hosts six players in double figures.

Mr. Morant finished 13-for-21 from the field and 4-for-7 on 3-pointers for the Grizzlies, who shot 43.5 percent overall and 37.2 percent on 3-pointers. He also had team-highs in assists with seven and steals with three.

Desmond Bane had his best game of the series with 16 points for the Grizzlies, while Jackson totaled 15 and De’Anthony Melton 12. — Reuters

Spanish teener Alcaraz defeats Djokovic to reach Madrid Open final

May 8, 2022 | 7:38 pm

SPANISH teenager Carlos Alcaraz came from behind to beat world number one Novak Djokovic 6-7(5) 7-5 7-6(5) to reach the Madrid Open final, where on Sunday he will face Alexander Zverev after the German defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4 3-6 6-2.

Mr. Djokovic, who has yet to win a title this season, rallied from a break down to take the opening set in a tie-breaker and the 34-year-old looked dangerous on his serve as he won 21 straight points on it in the opener.

But Mr. Alcaraz, who turned 19 this week, showed resilience in the second set as he clawed his way back into the contest, saving a break point and holding for 6-5 before breaking Mr. Djokovic to force a decider.

The crowd in the Spanish capital got to their feet when Mr. Alcaraz completed his comeback, edging out Mr. Djokovic in the deciding tiebreak to become the first player to beat Rafa Nadal and Mr. Djokovic at the same clay court event.

“This gives me a lot of confidence to play the final tomorrow,” said Mr. Alcaraz after the match which lasted three hours and 35 minutes.

Mr. Alcaraz showed his all-round ability throughout in his first meeting with Mr. Djokovic, pinning the Serbian back with his huge groundstrokes and using his trademark drop shots.

He struck 51 winners to Mr. Djokovic’s 24 as his aggressive style troubled the world number one.

Bidding for his second Masters 1000 title, Mr. Alcaraz will play defending champion Mr. Zverev in Sunday’s final.

Mr. Zverev’s dominant serving proved too much for Mr. Tsitsipas to handle and he crushed a backhand winner on match point to seal his first career win over Mr. Tsitsipas on a clay court.

Mr. Zverev said he was as impressed as anyone with Mr. Alcaraz’s ascent to world number nine.

“I said last year in Acapulco that by Acapulco 2023, he’d be in the top 10,” Mr. Zverev said.

“He (Carlos Alcaraz) beat me by a year! He’s an incredible player … there’s no limit for him.” — Reuters

Liverpool suffer title blow in home draw with Spurs

May 8, 2022 | 7:37 pm

LIVERPOOL, England — Liverpool suffered a huge blow in their hopes of winning the Premier League title as they could only draw 1-1 at home to Tottenham Hotspur on a tense night at Anfield on Saturday.

Luis Diaz canceled out Son Heung-min’s opener to preserve Liverpool’s 14-month unbeaten run at home in the Premier League and send them top of the table on goal difference.

But the mood at the end was subdued as reigning champions Manchester City can move three points clear in a gripping title race with three games to play if they win their game in hand at home to Newcastle United on Sunday.

It was only the second time in 15 league matches that Liverpool have not taken all three points — the other occasion being a draw against City last month — and the consequences could be severe for Juergen Klopp’s men.

With the margin of error tiny, City now look strong favorites to retain their crown.

“It is incredibly difficult to play against an opponent with world-class players and a world-class manager when they have had a week to prepare and we play every three days,” Klopp, whose side reached the Champions League final on Tuesday, said.

“The dressing room is not flying, come on, but there are other games to play. We just have to keep going.”

It could have been even worse for Liverpool had Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg converted a glorious chance deep in stoppage time instead of bizarrely opting to head the ball across to Harry Kane rather than at a gaping goal.

In the end a draw was a disappointing outcome for both clubs in their respective ambitions, Liverpool’s to reclaim the title and Tottenham’s to finish in the top four.

Liverpool and Manchester City both have 83 points while Tottenham remain in fifth spot with 62 points, one behind fourth-placed Arsenal who host Leeds United on Sunday.

“It is a big point, but gutted we didn’t make it at the end,” Son, who is now only two goals behind Mohamed Salah in the race for the Premier League Golden Boot, said.

Liverpool dominated possession but Tottenham dug deep defensively and rode their luck at times.

Virgil van Dijk came closest to scoring before the interval when he headed a corner against the crossbar while Mr. Diaz forced Mr. Lloris into a fine low save.

Tottenham, who have emerged unbeaten from their games against Liverpool and City this season, were always a menace on the counter-attack and they took the lead in clinical style.

Mr. Kane did superbly to control a high ball and then played in Sessegnon on the right channel and his cross was tapped in by Son for his 20^th goal of the season.

Tottenham looked capable of holding on and moving into fourth spot until Mr. Diaz cut in from the left in the 74^th minute and his shot took a wicked deflection to beat Hugo Lloris.

Liverpool laid siege to Tottenham’s goal after that but the late goal they so often find refused to arrive. — Reuters

Bucks respond to furious Celtics rally, take 2-1 lead

May 8, 2022 | 7:36 pm

GIANNIS Antetokounmpo poured in 42 points and the Milwaukee Bucks overcame a fourth-quarter comeback to defeat the visiting Boston Celtics 103-101 Saturday afternoon and take a 2-1 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series.

After trailing by 13 in the fourth quarter, the Celtics came all the way back to take a one-point lead with 1:49 remaining when Jaylen Brown made a pair of free throws.

After Mr. Antetokounmpo scored to put the Bucks back into the lead, Jrue Holiday sank a turnaround jumper with 11.2 seconds remaining and Milwaukee was back up by three.

Marcus Smart was fouled with 4.6 seconds remaining, and after he made one free throw, he intentionally missed the second, the Celtics got the rebound but Smart missed a fadeaway as the clock was running out and Al Horford’s tip-in to potentially tie things at 103-103 came just after the final buzzer.

Mr. Antetokounmpo added 12 rebounds and eight assists on 16-of-30 shooting to give the Bucks the series advantage. Holiday contributed 25 points and seven rebounds, and Brook Lopez chipped in 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Mr. Brown paced Boston with 27 points and 12 rebounds on 8-of-16 shooting. Horford supplied 22 points and 16 rebounds for the Celtics while Derrick White went for 14 points off the bench.

Milwaukee outscored the Celtics 20-6 over the first 5:46 of the third quarter to open up a 10-point lead. Boston responded with a brief run to pull back within five, but the Bucks punched right back and would go on to carry a 13-point advantage into the fourth.

Despite shooting just 4-for-18 (22.2 percent) from beyond the arc in the first half, the Celtics went into the break with a 50-46 lead thanks to a 9-2 run to close the first half.

Boston took advantage of its opportunities at the charity stripe, cashing in on 16 of 17 first-half free throws (94.1 percent).

Mr. Antetokounmpo led all scorers with 20 points and nine rebounds to keep Milwaukee in contention, and Lopez had 11 points and seven rebounds. Both players found themselves in foul trouble, though, as they each picked up three fouls in the half.

Defense dictated the first 12 minutes of action, as neither team could shoot above 37 percent from the field. Boston also went just 1-for-7 (14.3 percent) from 3-point range, while the Bucks shot 2-for-10 (20.0 percent). — Reuters

Better Tatum

May 8, 2022 | 7:32 pm

First off for the Celtics, the bad news: They got next to nothing from top dog Jayson Tatum in Game Three of their semifinal-round series against the Bucks. It wasn’t simply that he posted a four-of-19 clip from the field, with nothing in six tries beyond the arc, for 10 points all told. It was that he appeared too passive on both ends of the court; he had as many turnovers as assists, and only one rebound to show in 41 minutes on the court. His relative timidity was especially evident in the second half, through which he came up with a mere two markers. To argue that he was the single biggest reason for the loss would be to understate the obvious; even he knew it, and acknowledged it in his post-mortem.

That said, the Celtics can point to a silver lining as they prepare for the next match at the Fiserv Forum tomorrow: Notwithstanding Tatum’s atrocious outing, they still came to within a basket of snatching victory from the throes of defeat. The controversial call that had Defensive Player of the Year awardee Marcus Smart taking only two free throws instead of three with the Bucks up three 4.6 ticks from the final buzzer was a bummer, but, for the most part, officiating actually went their way. Not for nothing did they take a whopping 17 charity attempts compared to zero for the hosts in the last 16 and a half minutes.

Bottom line, the Celtics had ample chances to reclaim homecourt advantage in the best-of-seven affair. That they didn’t is a testament to the Bucks’ — or, to be more precise, two-time Most Valuable Player awardee Giannis Antetokounmpo’s — relentlessness. The Greek Freak just would not, could not, be denied, and he got more than enough support on offense from defensive ace Jrue Holiday in the absence of second-leading scorer Khris Middleton. Still, a fortunate bounce here, a different move there, and increased focus everywhere may well have changed the outcome for the green and white.

Tatum pledged to do better in Game Four, and it’s fair to argue that there’s really nowhere else for him to go but up. There’s no excuse for him to make zero of 10 field-goal tries with journeyman Wesley Matthews as his primary defender. And, after having had such an excellent first-round series that talking heads felt compelled to lump him among the handful of the National Basketball Association’s best of the best, he cannot possibly have negligible impact in other aspects of the game. Imagine LeBron James or Kevin Durant getting a single rebound in a postseason setting.

So, yes, Tatum needs to do better — make that much better — in order for the Celtics to prevail against the Bucks. If nothing else, the defending champions deserve respect, and he can give it by being at his finest against them.

Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and Human Resources management, corporate communications, and business development.

NEDA sees pre-pandemic growth restored this year

May 8, 2022 | 6:38 pm

Karl-Chua-1 — KARL KENDRICK T. CHUA — PHILSTAR FILE PHOTO

THE National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) said the economy is projected to return to its pre-pandemic growth track by this year, aided by laws liberalizing investment in several industries.

In a statement on Sunday, Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick T. Chua said the easing of restrictions governing foreign investment in industries like telecommunications, retail and railways is expected to drive a wave of interest from overseas, where investment interest has long been deterred by the foreign ownership caps of 40% set in the Constitution for many industries.

Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 5.7% in 2021, following a contraction of 9.5% in 2020. The government is targeting a growth of between 7% and 9% this year.

On April 29, Mr. Chua said that “Without a doubt, the pandemic and its adverse economic impacts are indeed testing the Philippine economy like never before. But unlike past crises, the Philippines has solid fundamentals to address this crisis.”

“It is very important at the outset to have a strong macroeconomy so that you have enough buffers and enough resources to withstand any shocks, and you can concentrate on improving the welfare of the people,” Mr. Chua added.

“In the final months of the Duterte administration, we are vigorously pursuing the economy’s full recovery to restore jobs and bring more people out of poverty,” Mr. Chua said. “Executive Order (EO) No. 166, signed a few weeks ago, fully opens the economy, and we are working on getting tourists back (and) getting travel back to as normal as possible,” he said.

The government’s approach to reviving the economy centers on accelerating the vaccination program, reducing restrictions on foreign and domestic travel, and fast-tracking digitalization.

Mr. Chua specifically cited amendments to the Retail Trade Liberalization Act, the Foreign Investment Act, and the Public Service Act, all of which reduce foreign ownership restrictions.

The amended Public Service Act now allows 100% foreign ownership in public utilities, which includes telecommunications, domestic shipping, railways, subways, airlines, expressways, tollways and airports.

UnionBank of the Philippines, Inc. Chief Economist Ruben Carlo O. Asuncion projects full-year GDP growth at around the 5.8% mark, below the goal set by economic managers for this year.

On the other hand, he expects first-quarter growth to come in at 5.5%, a forecast he called “robust,” given the contraction of 3.8% in the year-earlier period.

“With so much uncertainty all over, it is very difficult to determine if government will hit its 2022 growth target,” Mr. Asuncion said.

He said that external headwinds, including the Russia-Ukraine war, China’s economic slowdown, and a hawkish US Fed “can weigh down on overall economic growth especially as the Philippine economy is yet to return to a pre-Covid economic growth trajectory.”

Mr. Asuncion said that the reforms Mr. Chua highlighted may not start showing up until long after the administration steps down. — Tobias Jared Tomas

Export performance touted as heralding broader recovery

May 8, 2022 | 6:37 pm

THE 9.8% growth posted by exports in the first quarter inspires confidence in the growth in the overall economy, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

“The Philippine economy will continue to rebound and grow in the coming months. Of course, this will just depend on how bad the world economies will be affected by the prolonged war in Ukraine,” Trade Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said in a statement on Sunday.

“The rate of Philippine export recovery in terms of both our key export products and markets brings greater optimism for a stronger Philippine economy. The only uncertainty is the possible global slowdown towards the second half of the year,” he added.

According to preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority, exports in the three months to March grew 9.8% year on year to $19.42 billion.

The DTI said exports of manufactured goods were particularly strong in electronic products, garments, textile, and travel goods.

It added that agro-based exports posted 32.6% growth in March, due to higher export sales of coconut products and other fruits and vegetables.

“Twenty-one out of 48 Philippine export commodity groups drove the resurgence of the export sector, registering consistent increases in export sales as compared to three time periods: 2021, 2020, and the pre-pandemic average over 2017-2019. This growth was propelled by exports in electronics, other mineral products, copper cathodes and sections of cathodes, coconut oil, and processed food and beverages,” the DTI said.

“In terms of markets, while China was the Philippines’ top export destination for the month of March, the US was the country’s largest export market in the first quarter of 2022. Completing the country’s top five markets for the quarter are Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore,” it added.

Mr. Lopez said the growth in the manufacturing sector and overall economy were driven by the reopening of the economy.

“The full reopening of more sectors, the de-escalation of all areas to (quarantine) Alert Levels 1 and 2, and the intensified vaccination efforts drove increased mobility throughout the country, thus further increasing demand,” Mr. Lopez said. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave