Stocks rose slightly Wednesday, after the Bank of Japan announced adjustments to its monetary policy, spurring a surge in Asian shares.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, picked up 3 points to close at 7,675.42 Wednesday. It was also up 10.4 percent since the start of the year.
The heavier index, representing all shares, also gained 6 points, or 0.2 percent, to settle at 4,570.34, on a value turnover of P7.4 billion. Advancers outnumbered losers, 105 to 82, while 54 issues were unchanged.
Twelve of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by MRC Allied Inc. which soared 10.8 percent to P0.237. Infrastructure firm Megawide Construction Corp. climbed 4.8 percent to P14.94, while cement producer Cemex Holdings Philippines Inc. gained 3.5 percent to P11.90.
Meanwhile, Asian stocks traded higher after the Bank of Japan’s decision. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.6 percent to 139.48 as of 1:44 p.m. in Tokyo from an advance of 0.2 percent shortly before the BOJ announcement.
Japan’s Topix index jumped 1.9 percent, while the yen weakened 0.8 percent to 102.51 against the dollar. The authority kept its policy rate at minus 0.1 percent and said the monetary base target, which previously had been set at annual increases of 80 trillion yen ($781 billion), may now fluctuate in the short term as policy makers seek to control the yield curve.
“We’re seeing a knee-jerk reaction to the BOJ decision but this could reverse depending on what we get tonight from the Fed,” said Nicholas Teo, a trading strategist at KGI Fraser Securities in Singapore. “It seems the BOJ didn’t go full force in its move to further ease monetary policy. Its a very safe move, choosing to reserve some of their bullets as they wait for the Fed’s next moves.”
Attention now turns to the US central bank’s review later on Wednesday, with futures traders seeing a 22 percent chance of an interest-rate increase.
Global markets have oscillated amid an uptick in volatility the past two weeks, with concern mounting that monetary authorities are becoming less committed to stimulus amid persistently mixed economic data. A report Tuesday showed US new-home construction fell more than projected in August, representing a pause after a spell of strong gains.
“With US data pretty mixed at the moment, there’s a lack of consensus among Fed policy makers whether to raise rates,” said Chris Green, the Auckland-based director of economics and strategy at First NZ Capital Group Ltd. “The focus of investors will be on the tone of the Fed statement.”
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index increased 0.6 percent, Taiwan’s benchmark gauge climbed 0.4 percent and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index advanced 0.3 percent. Thailand’s SET Index added 1 percent and South Korea’s Kospi index rose 0.2 percent.
The Shanghai Composite Index was little changed, while Singapore’s STI Index fell 0.2 percent and New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 Index declined 0.5 percent.
Futures on the S&P 500 Index increased 0.2 percent. The US equity benchmark index rose less than 0.1 percent on Tuesday, paring earlier gains of as much as 0.6 percent. With AFP, Bloomberg