Stocks fell for a second day, as the dollar strengthened further on growing expectations the US will hike interest rates by the end of the year.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, lost 19 points, or 0.3 percent, to close at 7,620.16 Thursday. This reduced total gains this year to 9.6 percent.
The broader all-share index also declined 9 points, or 0.2 percent, to settle at 4,521.90, on a value turnover of P6.7 billion.
Eight of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by gaming company PhilWeb Corp. which surged 28.6 percent to P8. Former trade minister and businessman Roberto Ongpin agreed to sell his entire controlling stake in PhilWeb to businessman Gregorio Araneta for P2 billion at P2.60 per share.
Port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. rose 1.9 percent to P81, while infrastructure conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp. picked up 1.7 percent to P7.32.
Meanwhile, most Asian markets traded higher Thursday. Another round of positive data out of Washington, this time on the key services sector, reinforced views that the world’s top economy is back on track and able to deal with the impact of tighter borrowing costs.
“Data has been consistent with the Fed moving in December,” Chris Green, the Auckland-based director of economics and strategy at First NZ Capital Group, said.
“The Fed has a delicate balancing act,” he told Bloomberg News. “They’d want to normalise rates as the economy improves but at the same time they don’t want to scare the financial system.”
Mitsushige Akino, an executive officer at Ichiyoshi Investment Management, added: “A December hike will happen for sure.”
US markets rallied Wednesday after the Institute for Supply Management said the services sector expanded at its fastest rate in almost a year in September, rebounding from the previous month’s slump.
The prospects of US rates tightening within three months has rallied the dollar, which bought 103.61yen in Tokyo—slightly up from late in New York and sharply higher than the levels below 103 yen earlier Thursday in Asia.
Japanese exporters welcomed the weaker yen, sending the Nikkei in Tokyo 0.5 percent higher for its fourth-straight gain.
Hong Kong added 0.5 percent in the afternoon, while Sydney and Seoul each closed 0.6 percent higher and Singapore gained 0.4 percent. Shanghai is closed for a week-long public holiday.
The greenback was also at three-decade highs against the pound, which has been hammered this week after Prime Minister Theresa May set a timeline for Britain to exit the EU by 2019. With AFP, Bloomberg
