PSEi tracks Wall St.’s rise ahead of inflation data
STOCKS advanced on Wednesday to track Wall Street on bargain hunting due to rate hike fears ahead of the release of latest US inflation data.
The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose 44.25 points or 0.59% to end at 7,502.48 on Wednesday, while the broader all shares index gained 22.40 points or 0.57% to close at 3,951.58.
“Philippines shares rode on the rebound of Wall Street as investors continued to bargain hunt ahead of Thursday’s key consumer price index report,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message.
First Metro Investment Corp. (FMIC) Head of Research Cristina S. Ulang said foreign buying continued on Wednesday “as the bond rout has spread from the US to Europe, pushing investment flows into cheaply valued Asian equities with good macro and corporate earnings growth prospects like the Philippines.”
Net foreign buying was at P428.86 million on Wednesday, higher than the P191.24 million recorded on Tuesday.
“The positive spillovers from Wall Street also helped in the climb,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Senior Research Analyst Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message.
Asian shares advanced on Wednesday with tech stocks particularly catching a lift following a strong session on Wall Street, while US treasury yields held near multi-year highs ahead of closely watched inflation data this week.
Barring any big surprises, the consumer price index should cement expectations the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next month, with a strong print offering further support to those tipping a larger 50 basis point rise.
MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 1% to its highest in two weeks, helped by a 3% gain in Hong Kong-listed tech stocks.
Japan’s Nikkei gained 0.9%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.06% to end at 35,462.78 points. The S&P 500 gained 0.84% to 4,521.52. The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.28% to 14,194.46.
US Treasury yields held firm in Asian trading, after touching multi-year highs the day before as did yields in the euro zone.
“Market rose as it started pricing in the election spending kick benefiting consumption around 60% of the economy and corporate earnings with the start of the campaign season,” FMIC’s Ms. Ulang added.
Most sectoral indices went up on Wednesday, except for holding firms, which dropped 38.21 points or 0.53% to 7,170.02.
On the other hand, property rose 77.23 points or 2.34% to 3,364.52; services advanced 26.01 points or 1.31% to 2,012.13; mining and oil gained 52.55 points or 0.48% to 10,801.36; industrials climbed 37.40 points or 0.34% to end at 10,848.84; and financials inched up 3.46 points or 0.19% to 1,754.84.
Value turnover jumped to P8.41 billion on Wednesday with 975.43 million shares switching hands from the P6.99 billion with 1.07 billion issues traded the previous day.
Advancers beat decliners, 112 against 89, while 58 names closed unchanged. — MCL with Reuters
