Stocks rose for a second day, as investors weighed indications that US Federal Reserve officials’ opinions on policy strategy are diverging.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, climbed 39 points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 7,888.31, as five of the six major sectors advanced. The bellwether was also up 15.3 percent since the start of the year.
The heavier index, representing all shares, rose 24 points, or 0.5 percent, to settle at 4,736.85, on a value turnover of P7.5 billion. Gainers outnumbered losers, 107 to 95, while 54 issues were unchanged.
Fifteen of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by retailer SSI Group Inc. which jumped 8.3 percent to P4.43 and East West Banking Corp. which climbed 4.7 percent to P33.45. Conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. went up 4 percent to P6.69.
Meanwhile, equities in Japan and Taiwan fell and stocks in Indonesia and India advanced. The dollar gathered strength as the yen gave up gains and the South Korean won slid to a four-month low. Oil recovered some losses after slumping toward $45 a barrel, as data showed U.S. crude and gasoline stockpiles declined.
Equity traders remained on edge after North Korea’s latest missile test and warnings from the US it would use force to deal with the nuclear-armed state.
Crude fell around four percent Wednesday on renewed concerns about a global supply glut that overshadowed data pointing to a drop in US stockpiles.
Investors are worried that an output cut agreed by OPEC and Russia will not be enough to offset rising production from the US and other nations including Libya and Nigeria.
“Gasoline demand has increased because of the US driving season and that’s a good sign for the market,” Barnabas Gan, an economist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. in Singapore, told Bloomberg News.
But he added: “The rally is still extremely fragile and any signs which point to a higher supply environment into the second half could be a factor for oil prices to fall further.”
Oil had surged around 10 percent since mid-June on bargain-buying—having dived about a fifth over the previous four weeks on supply worries.
While the commodity rose more than one percent Thursday in Asia, Hong Kong-listed PetroChina and CNOOC were each down sharply down. Santos and Rio Tinto gave up more than one percent in Sydney and Inpex was down a similar amount in Tokyo.
Broader equity markets swung back into negative territory on lingering worries about the North Korea crisis after it tested its first missile able to reach the United States.
At the United Nations, the US led a push for tougher sanctions on the hermit state, with Ambassador Nikki Haley saying it was working on a draft resolution imposing sanctions on Kim Jong-Un’s regime.
She called the launch a “sharp military escalation” that made “the world a more dangerous place”, adding President Donald Trump was ready to use military force if all diplomatic avenues are exhausted.
The escalation comes days before Trump heads to Germany for his first G20 summit, which was already expected to be testy for the new president following his recent outbursts over global trade and NATO.
Tokyo ended 0.4 percent lower while Hong Kong slipped 0.1 percent.
Sydney lost 0.1 percent and Seoul was marginally lower while Singapore and Taipei each gave up 0.4 percent. With Bloomberg, AFP