PSEi ends higher as inflation eased in Jan.

SHARES went up on Friday as inflation eased last month, which fuelled bets that the central bank would continue to keep borrowing costs low. 

The benchmark Philippine Stocks Exchange index (PSEi) rose 73.58 points or 0.99% to end 7,456.35, while the broader all shares index inched up 27.74 points or 0.71% to close 3,933.94 on Friday. 

“Market moved up today as inflation rate sustained its downward trajectory further. This gives the signal to Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to maintain monetary policy rate at current low overnight rate so as to support economic activity,” Diversified Securities, Inc. Equity Trader Aniceto K. Pangan said in a Viber message on Friday. 

Headline inflation eased to its lowest level in 15 months in January as housing and utilities prices slowed. 

Under rebased 2018 prices, preliminary data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed inflation slowed to 3% year on year in January from 3.2% in December and 3.7% print in the same month last year.  

It was the fifth consecutive month that headline inflation decelerated since the 4.4% peak seen in August last year.  

January’s print matched the pace logged in November 2020 and was the slowest in 15 months or since the 2.3% inflation rate recorded in October 2020.  

The headline figure also matched the 3% median estimate in a BusinessWorld poll conducted a week ago.  

The central bank on Friday said the slower inflation seen in January is consistent with its expectation that the consumer price index would be within target this year and next. 

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ Monetary Board will meet to review its policy settings on Feb. 17. It has kept borrowing costs at record lows since November 2020. 

“Philippine shares were bought as inflation continued to cool down in the latest reading, while investors sought refuge from the sell-off last night in the US,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in an email. 

Mr. Limlingan said US shares dropped after Meta Platforms’ earnings miss and due to the rise in 10-year US Treasury yields ahead of the release of the latest non-farm payrolls report. 

Wall Street snapped a four-session winning streak on Thursday, with all three benchmarks ending lower after Facebook owner Meta Platforms’ dour forecast sent its stock plummeting and halted a nascent recovery built on upbeat earnings from other big tech, Reuters reported. 

Meta shares sank 26.4%, wiping around more than $200 billion off its market value, according to Reuters calculations, as it blamed Apple’s privacy changes and increased competition from rivals such as TikTok for its disappointing outlook. 

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 518.17 points or 1.45% to 35,111.16; the S&P 500 lost 111.94 points or 2.44% to 4,477.44; and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 538.73 points or 3.74% to 13,878.82. 

Back home, most sectoral indices ended in the green except for financials, which went down 4.38 points or 0.35% to 1,373.12 and services, which slid 2.05 points or 0.10% to 1,962.02. 

Meanwhile, mining and oil climbed 206 points or 1.99% to 10,552.75; holding firms gained 117.08 points or 1.64% to 7,235.76; property advanced 53.21 points or 1.62% to 3,327.05; and industrials rose 62.84 points or 0.58% to 10,825.84. 

Value turnover jumped to P8.64 billion with 1.75 issues traded from the P6.75 billion with 1.69 shares that switched hands on Thursday. 

Advancers beat decliners, 110 versus 80, while 54 names remained unchanged. 

Net foreign selling was at P25.76 million on Friday versus the P162.06 million in net purchases logged the previous trading day. — MCL with Reuters