The stock market rose for the fifth straight trading day after opening weak Tuesday, with sentiments lifted by the easing inflation outlook and falling crude oil prices.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index gained 32.68 points, or 0.4 percent, to 7,302.94 on a value turnover of P6.9 billion. Losers, however, beat gainers, 109 to 84, with 47 issues unchanged.
GT Capital Holdings Inc.of tycoon George Ty advanced 4.6 percent to P899.50, while Security Bank Corp., the the sixth-biggest lender in terms of assets, climbed 3.8 percent to P152.
Megaworld Corp., the largest lessor of office spaces, rose 3 percent to P4.76, while conglomerate San Miguel Corp. added 2.5 percent to P174.10.
Technology firms, meanwhile, led a sell-off across Asian markets Tuesday on fresh concerns about demand for Apple’s iPhones, while Japanese car giants Nissan and Mitsubishi plunged on news chairman Carlos Ghosn had been arrested over alleged financial misconduct.
This, he added, would provide some stability to the Chinese yuan and under-pressure Asian currencies.
Hong Kong fell two percent in the afternoon, Shanghai ended off 2.1 percent, while Sydney, Seoul and Singapore each fell 0.8 percent. Wellington dropped one percent and Taipei 0.6 percent.
Tokyo was down 1.1 percent.
After a brief couple of days of stability, panic returned to trading floors following a report that the US titan had slashed production of its popular handset.
That comes just a week after a supplier suggested the firm had cut orders, fanning speculation the latest incarnation of the gadget is not selling as much as hoped.
Apple collapsed four percent in US trade with Facebook, Amazon, Google parent Alphabet and Microsoft each diving three percent or more.
The losses filtered through to Asia, where Apple suppliers were also in trouble.
In Tokyo, Japan Display collapsed more than 10 percent and has now lost around a third of its value over the past week, while Alps Electric fell 1.8 percent. Among other tech firms Sony shed 3.1 percent and Hong Kong-listed Sunny Optical Technology dived 3.1 percent.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company shed 1.8 percent in Taipei and Delta Electronics was off 1.6 percent.
Broader markets were also well down as investors fret over a number of issues, with attention now turning to next week’s G20 summit in Argentina, where Donald Trump is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping to talk trade.
There had been some hope that the world’s top two economies could find a resolution to their painful tariffs row but a clash of words at the weekend between Xi and Trump’s Vice President Mike Pence has muddied the waters.
“A comprehensive trade agreement at the G20 that rolls back the tariffs still looks unlikely,” warned Bank of Singapore currency strategist Sim Moh Siong. “But a constructive US-China statement, agreement to restart talks and a tariff pause appear to be emerging possibilities.
“The most positive outcome at G20 would be the White House ‘stopping the clock’ on the now-scheduled ramp-up in tariffs from a 10 percent rate to a 25 percent rate, moving that date from 1 Jan 2019 to a later date.” With AFP