Stocks rose for a second day, tracking the movement of other Asian markets following a speech of US US Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen that she is confident the world’s largest economy will continue to improve.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, climbed 89 points, or 1.3 percent, to close at 7,246.08 Thursday. This pushed up total gains this year to 5.9 percent.
The broader all-share index also advanced 40 points, or 0.9 percent, to settle at 4,362.21, on a value turnover of P5.8 billion. Advancers outnumbered losers, 112 to 70, while 49 issues were unchanged.
All six counters advanced, while 15 of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by food manufacturer Universal Robina Corp. which climbed 3.8 percent to P173 and property developer Ayala Land Inc. which rose 3 percent to P34.90.
Meanwhile, Tokyo stocks closed higher Thursday as a weaker yen lifted exporters, but Toshiba plunged 16 percent on concerns about huge losses in its US nuclear power business.
The dollar rallied against high-yielding currencies and cemented gains versus its major peers Thursday as dealers took a speech by Federal Reserve boss Janet Yellen as a hint that US rates will rise further this year.
A weaker yen helped Japanese stocks lead a broad advance across Asian markets as optimism was buoyed by Yellen’s remarks on the economy but traders moved cautiously ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration on Friday.
In the two months after Trump’s November election win the dollar soared against all other currencies on expectations his big-spending, tax-cutting plans will fan growth, ramp up inflation and force the Fed to lift borrowing costs.
But growing uncertainty in the past two weeks, made worse by a lack of policy detail from the president-elect, has sent investors scurrying back out of the US unit until they see signs of firm plans.
However, Yellen breathed life back into the greenback Wednesday with a speech in which she said the US economy was meeting the central bank’s inflation and employment goals, and was confident it would push on.
“Yellen’s comments reinforced the message that we have been getting from other Fed speakers that the economy is already strong even before the addition of any stimulus from Trumponomics,” said Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at FX and CFD provider AxiTrader.
Sydney edged up 0.2 percent while Seoul put on 0.1 percent, while Singapore, Jakarta and Mumbai also posted gains.
But Hong Kong lost 0.5 percent in the afternoon and Shanghai closed 0.4 percent lower.
Investors are waiting for Trump’s post-inauguration speech hoping he will provide some color to his campaign promises although there are concerns among many Asian markets about his protectionist rhetoric.
“While the inauguration is dominating headlines, simmering on the back burner is the overriding theme of US protectionism, expressly directed at China,” Stephen Innes, senior trader at Oanda, said in a note.
“With so many prominent trade hawks joining the Trump administration, it all points to a massive shift in US trade policy. That does not paint a rosy picture for regional… exporters, nor countries like Australia, which play such a vital role in the global supply chain.” With AFP, Bloomberg