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Friday, March 29, 2024

Stocks rebound; MPIC, Globe gain

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The stock market rose Thursday in a technical rebound and ahead of the policy meeting of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, with select blue chips leading the gainers.

The Bangko Sentral later in the day raised its interest rates by 50 basis points in   line with market expectations.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index added 52.38 points, or 0.7 percent, to 7,320.59 on a value turnover of just over P5 billion. Losers, however, beat gainers, 101 to 85, with 45 issues unchanged.

Globe Telecom Inc., the second-biggest telecommunications firm, rallied 6.5 percent to P2,200, while Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which is into toll roads, water and electricity generation, power generation and hospitals, climbed 2.8 percent to P4.78.

Jollibee Foods Corp., the largest fast-food chain, rose 2.7 percent to P259, while SM Investments Corp. of retail tycoon Henry Sy. Sr. gained 2.9 percent to P899.

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Most Asian markets, meanwhile, fell Thursday as investors considered the prospect of more US interest rate hikes and Donald Trump’s latest broadside in his trade war with China.

And Hong Kong property firms took a hit after two of the city’s biggest banks raised their own rates for the first time in 12 years as a result of the Fed’s move.

Tokyo led losses, ending down one percent, while Sydney lost 0.2 percent, Mumbai eased 0.2 percent and Wellington shed 0.7 percent. Bangkok was also off but Singapore, Taipei and Seoul rose.

Hong Kong reversed early gains to sit 0.4 percent lower while Shanghai shed 0.5 percent, Taipei gained 0.3 percent and Sydney was flat.

The US central bank moved for the third time this year, as expected, citing an increasingly strong economy and jobs market, with governor Jerome Powell saying he saw no vulnerabilities in the financial system.

The post-meeting statement removed mention of being “accommodative,” which was seen as symbolically important as observers said it indicated the bank is moving away from the days of lower rates.

While Powell said this did not mean the Fed would tighten policy more quickly the bank is widely expected to lift rates again in December, while analysts are betting on another three in 2019.

Powell also said there remained risks from trade tensions, which could lift inflation, but added it was too soon to tell what impact it would have.

After the meeting, Wall Street’s three main indexes fell and the dollar edged up on the prospect of higher rates through the year.

Trump ramped up his criticism of China on Wednesday, accusing it of trying to sway November’s mid-term elections against his Republican party because of the trade row and admitting his relationship with President Xi Jinping may have been permanently damaged.

His comments will do little to ease concerns about an all-out trade war between the two economic giants, which have exchanged tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars worth of goods, with no sign of a let-up in hostilities. With AFP

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