The stock market rallied Thursday after more weak US data fueled hopes the Federal Reserve will delay an interest rate hike.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index jumped 120.63 points, or 1.7 percent, to 7,045.40 on a value turnover of nearly P6 billion. Gainers overwhelmed losers, 121 to 66, with 37 issues unchanged.
Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., the second-biggest lender in terms of assets, rallied 4 percent to P84.40, while SM Investments Corp. of retail tycoon Henry Sy climbed 2.3 percent to P879.50.
Ayala Land Inc. advanced 2.7 percent to P35.95, while sister unit Bank of the Philippine Islands, the third-biggest bank, rallied 3 percent to P83.
Bloomberry Resorts Corp., which operates a casino on a reclaimed portion of Manila Bay, surged 10.8 percent to P6.55, while JG Summit Holdings Inc. of industrialist John Gokongwei gained 2.6 percent to P70.80.
High-yielding, or riskier, assets snapped back after a two-day sell-off that came on the back of renewed concerns that China’s economic growth crisis will seep through to other countries.
By the end of trade Seoul was 1.18 percent higher, Tokyo added 1.15 percent and Sydney gained 0.63 percent.
Shanghai closed 2.32 percent higher after the country’s three major telecoms firms on Wednesday announced plans to share control of a new company grouping their signal towers and other assets.
Equity and currency markets have enjoyed a broad advance so far in October after enduring the worst quarter for four years in the July-September period, with most of the gains coming from speculation the Fed will keep borrowing costs on hold.
In India, shares in Adani Enterprises surged after Australia’s government gave approval to a controversial project to build one of the world’s biggest coal mines.
Also Wednesday the Fed’s closely watched Beige Book report on the economy said that while expansion continued modestly the stronger dollar in recent months was “restraining manufacturing activity as well as tourism spending”.
The news comes after a below-par jobs report at the start of the month and adds to a sense that the world’s biggest economy is stuttering, giving the Fed more reason to hold off a rate rise.
With borrowing costs expected to remain at record lows in the near future investors moved into riskier assets. The Indonesian rupiah surged 2.4 percent and the Malaysian ringgit rallied 2.2 percent against the dollar in the morning before easing slightly to sit 1.7 percent and 1.5 percent higher respectively in late trade.
South Korea’s won was up 1.5 percent, helped by a decision by the country’s central bank not to cut interest rates despite lowering its economic growth outlook.
The Taiwan dollar and Thai baht each rose more than 0.6 percent, while the Indian rupee was 0.4 percent higher.
“What you’re seeing in the movement right now is an unwind of the bullish-dollar story,” Douglas Borthwick, head of foreign-exchange at New York brokerage Chapdelaine & Co, told Bloomberg News.
“The Fed has no reason to raise rates when you’re getting the data that we’ve been getting lately.” With AFP