PHL shares extend climb as sentiment improves
PHILIPPINE SHARES continued to climb on Wednesday, backed by Wall Street’s rebound overnight on easing trade war concerns and after US President Donald J. Trump said he does not plan to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose by 0.37% or 22.89 points to close at 6,168.48, while the broader all shares index increased by 0.18% or 6.64 points to 3,658.78.
“Gains for the day are attributed to the positive cues from Wall Street, the peso’s improving position, and appreciation of corporate fundamentals,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Senior Research Analyst Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message. “It is noticed however that the market still moved sideways within the day, at times visiting the negative territory, as investors remain concerned with the global economy amid the United States tariff poli-cies.”
“Philippine shares booked minor gains as investors brushed off US-China trade tensions, tracking the US market’s movement with a sharp rebound. For the US market, it was yet another rebound… as optimism grew in the market for a US-China trade war de-escalation,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message.
US stocks rebounded on Tuesday as a spate of quarterly earnings reports and hints at the de-escalation of US-China trade tensions brought buyers in from the sidelines, Reuters reported.
US stocks jumped further in extended trade after Mr. Trump said he has no plans to fire Mr. Powell, stepping back from his recent rhetoric against the central bank chief.
Mr. Trump also told reporters he would be very nice in negotiations with China, and that tariffs on imports from the country would fall significantly following a deal, but not to zero.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1,016.57 points or 2.66% to 39,186.98; the S&P 500 gained 129.56 points or 2.51% to 5,287.76; and the Nasdaq Composite gained 429.52 points or 2.71% to 16,300.42.
Back home, sectoral indices closed mixed on Wednesday. Services surged by 2.89% or 55.40 points to 1,972.45; property climbed by 0.82% or 18.13 points to 2,229.68; and holding firms increased by 0.28% or 14.38 points to 5,096.01.
Meanwhile, mining and oil slumped by 2.55% or 258.17 points to 9,867.41; financials dropped by 0.77% or 18.68 points to 2,402.29, and industrials retreated by 0.71% or 61.89 points to 8,646.28.
“Puregold Price Club, Inc. was the top index gainer, climbing 4.17% to P31.25. ACEN Corp. was the worst index performer, plunging 7.86% to P2.58,” Mr. Tantiangco said.
Value turnover increased to P8.17 billion on Wednesday with 650.38 million issues traded from the P4.84 billion with 593.06 million shares exchanged on Tuesday.
Decliners narrowly beat advancers, 97 versus 92, while 56 names were unchanged.
Net foreign selling climbed to P153.42 million on Wednesday from P38.76 million on Tuesday. — R.M.D. Ochave with Reuters
