The stock market fell Thursday on mild profit-taking despite signs of easing tensions between China and the US in their trade row that fueled hopes of a breakthrough in high-level talks next month.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index dropped 23.47 points, or 0.3 percent, to 7,944.43 on a value turnover of P6.7 billion. Losers edged gainers, 96 to 93, with 50 issues unchanged.
Jollibee Foods Corp., the biggest fast-food chain, lost 1.7 percent to P222.40, while International Container Terminal Services Inc., the largest port operator, declined 2.2 percent to P132.
Aboitiz Power Corp., however, rose 2.5 percent to P38.75, while Megaworld Corp., the largest lessor of office spaces, climbed 1.6 percent to P5.15.
The rest of Asian markets, meanwhile, were mixed as dealers struggled to extend this week’s healthy rally.
Donald Trump on Wednesday said he would delay hiking tariffs on Chinese goods, just hours after Beijing announced it would remove a range of US products from its own planned levies.
The moves provided an extra shot in the arm for investors as they await key announcements from the US and European central banks that are expected to see a further easing of monetary policy.
Tokyo ended 0.8 percent higher and Shanghai added 0.8 percent while Sydney climbed 0.3 percent. Mumbai and Taipei also rose, but Hong Kong dipped 0.1 percent in the afternoon, while there were also losses in Singapore, Wellington and Jakarta.
In a tweet Wednesday night, Trump said: “We have agreed, as a gesture of good will, to move the increased Tariffs on 250 Billion Dollars worth of goods (25% to 30%), from October 1st to October 15th.”
He added that the delay was requested by “Vice Premier of China, Liu He, and due to the fact that the People’s Republic of China will be celebrating their 70th Anniversary”, on October 1.
Earlier in the day, China said it would temporarily exempt 16 categories of US exports from tariff increases in an olive branch to Washington before the talks take place and which Trump described as “a big move.”
The more conciliatory tone from both sides—after months of rancor—fueled hopes they can edge towards a solution to their long-running trade war, which has jolted the global economy and stock markets.
The delay “shows Trump doesn’t want to increase tariffs before the trade talks in early October and it creates good conditions,” said Tommy Xie, an economist at Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. “It adds to the hope that there’ll be good news from the October meeting, and markets will wait and see.”
Wednesday’s developments were broadly welcomed though Asian markets struggled to hold on to initial rallies, with OANDA senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley adding a note of caution on the trade news.
“Just as the presidential tweet on tariffs… has injected more momentum into stocks and most likely emerging-market assets, what one hand gives the other can take away,” he said in a note.
“We are only one social media posting away from a thoroughly unpredictable president turning sentiment on its head.” With AFP