Stocks climbed Monday, tracking the movement of Asian markets led by the advance of energy shares as oil prices rose toward $51 a barrel.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, rose 38 points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 7,806.57, as five of the six sectoral indices advanced.
The heavier index, representing all shares, also gained 20 points, or 0.5 percent, to settle at 4,654.93, on a value turnover of P12 billion. Losers outnumbered gainers, 96 to 92, while 42 issues were unchanged.
Thirteen of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by East West Banking Corp. which climbed 2.8 percent to P24. EastWest is reportedly involved in talks with a minority investor.
Property developer Megaworld Corp. climbed 2.6 percent to P4.35, while Ayala Land Inc. rose 1.9 percent to P38.10.
Meanwhile, energy and raw-materials shares posted the biggest moves on the MSCI Asia Pacific Index. Saudi Arabia’s energy minister said all producers participating in a deal to limit output agree on extending the cuts by nine months.
A rally in Tencent Holdings Ltd. helped send Hong Kong shares back to a 22-month high. The won surged even after North Korea conducted another ballistic missile test on Sunday. The pound fell as the UK threatened to exit talks on its departure from Europe.
Global equities are close to a record as investors bet global growth can withstand political turmoil in the U.S. and Brazil, as well as further increases in interest rates. Money managers will be scrutinizing minutes released this week from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting, with a more than 80 percent chance that rates will go up again next month.
An agreement will come as a big relief to oil traders concerned about a pick-up in US shale production as well as increasing output from northern Africa.
Crude prices, which had already rallied about 2 percent Friday on hopes for a deal, built on the gains in Asia, in turn firing energy companies.
Hong Kong-listed CNOOC jumped 0.8 percent and PetroChina was 1.5 percent up, while Woodside Petroleum piled on 1.9 percent in Sydney with Rio Tinto more than three percent. Japan’s Inpex rose more than one percent.
The advances helped drive gains in wider stock markets. Tokyo ended 0.5 percent higher, Hong Kong jumped 0.9 percent in the afternoon and Sydney added 0.8 percent.
Seoul was 0.7 percent higher and Singapore put on 0.2 percent while Taipei, Manila and Jakarta also climbed. However, Shanghai ended 0.5 percent down.
“The solid rise in oil and commodity markets helped lift prices and sentiment,” Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at AxiTrader, said.
US and European markets pressed higher Friday on bargain-buying. That followed sharp losses on worries about Donald Trump’s economy-boosting agenda as his presidency in engulfed in a crisis over his firing of the head of the FBI and allegations he disclosed sensitive intelligence to Russian officials.
“The appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the Russia question has relieved the pressure on markets and given some sense of certainty,” McKenna said. “The fact that the process is in hand has calmed tensions somewhat.”
Traders are keeping watch on the release of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting, hoping for some clarity on its plans for hiking interest rates in light of recent disappointing US data while a number of board members will also be speaking. With Bloomberg, AFP