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Friday, March 29, 2024

Market slips; Bloomberry up

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The stock market slipped Friday in mixed trading ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration and on the poor performance of the agriculture sector in 2016.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index lost 13.42 points, or 0.2 percent, to 7,232.66 on a value turnover of P5.7 billion. Gainers beat losers, 94 to 84,with 45 issues unchanged.

Farm output contracted 1.11 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016 as typhoons Karen and Lawin pulled down the production in the crops and fisheries sectors, the Philippine Statistics Authority said Friday.

The poor fourth quarter output brought agriculture production in the full of 2016 down by 1.41 percent from a contraction of 0.11 percent in 2015.

Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., the second-biggest lender in terms of assets, fell 0.8 percent to P76.40, while Universal Robina Corp., the largest snack food maker, tumbled 4 percent to P166.10.

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SM Investments Corp. of retail tycoon Henry Sy Sr. dropped 1.5 percent to P670, while conglomerate Ayala Corp. declined 1.5 percent to P788.

Bloomberry Resorts Corp. of port tycoon Enrique Razon Jr. advanced 2.9 percent to P7.05.

Shanghai stocks, meanwhile, jumped Friday, but traders in most other Asian markets were subdued ahead of Trump’s inauguration.

After a tepid start to the day, mainland Chinese traders rallied after official figures showed growth came in at 6.8 percent in the final quarter of last year, the first improvement since the end of 2014.

For the year, the world’s top economy expanded 6.7 percent, in line with projections in an AFP poll and meeting government targets. However, it did mark the slowest rate since 1990.

There was also a note of caution as Trump heads to the White House, having spent most of his election campaign digging at China over what he considers unfair trade practices and his accusations of currency manipulation.

“China’s economy was within a proper range with improved quality and efficiency. However, we should also be aware that the domestic and external conditions are still complicated and severe,” the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement. 

However, Shanghai ended the day 0.7 percent higher, although Hong Kong struggled to gain traction and was down 0.4 percent in the afternoon.

In other markets, Tokyo ended up 0.3 percent despite fresh weakness in the dollar against the yen and another hefty plunge in car airbag maker Takata. The firm shifted 21 percent, a day after losing 17 percent, on fears of a drawn-out bankruptcy restructuring following the biggest-ever auto safety recall.

Sydney shed 0.7 percent, Seoul lost 0.4 percent and Wellington gave up 0.2 percent.

After a two-month rally following Trump’s election win, uncertainty has gripped trading floors in recent weeks as they try to gauge what sort of president he will be in the wake of a series of outbursts against China and global trade deals.

While he promised a big-spending, tax-cutting drive to fuel the world’s top economy, the tycoon has failed to provide any detail, leading to worries about his ability to deliver.

But analysts said investors were keeping their powder dry until the new president provides something concrete. With AFP

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