The stock market declined Friday on lingering concerns about higher inflation after the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas raised Thursday the overnight borrowing rate by another 50 basis points to 4.5 percent to contain rising prices.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index fell 43.77 points, or 0.6 percent, to 7,276.82 on a value turnover of P6 billion. Losers beat gainers, 99 to 85, with 50 issues unchanged.
Consumer prices rose by a nine-year high to 6.4 percent in August, with some analysts warning the September data, due out next week, could top seven percent.
Aboitiz Power Corp. of the Aboitiz Group dropped 4.4 percent to P33.45, while LT Group Inc. of tobacco and airline tycoon Lucio Tan lost 4 percent to P14.40.
Bank of the Philippine Islands, the third-biggest lender in terms of assets, advanced 4.4 percent to P83.30, while PLDT Inc., the largest telecommunications firm, climbed 3.8 percent to P1,350.
The rest of Asian markets rose Friday, tracking a rally on Wall Street where investors were buoyed by the Federal Reserve’s positive outlook for the US economy, and oil added to gains with predictions it could be headed back to $100.
While concerns over the China-US trade row hang in the air, equities continue to be supported by optimism that the global economy and companies are in rude health.
That was reinforced by the Fed Wednesday as it lifted interest rates and indicated more to come over the next year citing the strong labour market and playing down concerns about vulnerabilities in the financial system.
“One thing that’s telling is the current price action which sees investors continually coming back for more. That suggests the gushing US economy and not trade wars, continues to influence investors’ decisions,” said Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trading at OANDA.
All three Wall Street indexes ended with gains and Asia followed suit.
Tokyo led the way, ending 1.4 percent higher as exporters were boosted by the weaker yen, which is at its lowest level against the dollar this year.
Shanghai gained 1.1 percent, Sydney rose 0.4 percent and Singapore climbed 0.6 percent. Wellington added 0.7 percent while there were also solid performances in Manila, Mumbai and Jakarta.
However, Hong Kong pared early gains and was flat in the afternoon with property firms again hit after the city’s banks on Thursday lifted commercial lending rates for the first time in 12 years following the Fed hike.
Seoul and Taipei were also lower.
While the prospect of higher US rates has lifted the dollar, the upbeat mood is also helping emerging market and high-yielding currencies, which have been swiped in recent weeks by the trade war fears.
The South Korean won, Indonesian rupiah, Thai baht and Mexican peso were all being well bought while the Turkish lira jumped more than one percent, despite ongoing concerns about the country’s economy.
The euro continued fell further after losing almost one percent Thursday as Italy’s populist government agreed on a budget deficit target of 2.4 percent of gross domestic product for next year, fueling fears of a bust-up with Brussels. With AFP