Stocks retreated from a two-day climb Thursday, as a powerful typhoon slammed northern Philippines which could affect gross domestic product growth in the fourth quarter.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, lost 8 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 7,713.32. Despite the loss, the bellwether was still up 10.9 percent this year.
The heavier index, representing all shares, added 2 points to settle at 4,536.90, on a value turnover of P6.9 billion. Advancers outnumbered losers, 101 to 78, while 47 issues were unchanged.
Four of the six sectors advanced, while 14 of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp. which climbed 4.9 percent to P5.40 and power retailer Manila Electric Co. which gained 2 percent to P290.80.
Meanwhile, most Asian markets rose Thursday following a positive lead from Wall Street, with energy firms tracking a surge in oil prices while investors judged Hillary Clinton to have won the final presidential debate with Donald Trump.
The US energy department said crude inventories fell almost twice as much as expected last week, fanning hopes about demand in the world’s top economy and sending both main oil contracts rallying more than two percent.
The report was the latest positive for the oil market, which has been rallying since Opec last month agreed to cut output in a bid to address a global glut.
While oil dipped Thursday, the previous day’s gains provided support to energy companies across Asia, with Hong Kong-listed CNOOC and PetroChina each up around three percent. In Sydney, BHP Billiton added 1.7 percent and Japan’s Showa Shell Sekiyu gained 0.8 percent.
Those gains lifted broader markets and Tokyo closed 1.4 percent higher, while Hong Kong gained 0.3 percent and Shanghai ended flat. Sydney rose 0.1 percent while Seoul and Singapore barely moved.
In early European trade London dipped 0.2 percent but Frankfurt and Paris both rose 0.2 percent.
In forex trade the Mexican peso rose against the dollar after the final US presidential debate between market favorite Clinton and her Republican opponent Trump.
Trump has repeatedly said he will tear up a free-trade agreement with Mexico, build a wall between the two countries and remove illegal immigrants, initially hitting the peso on fears for the country’s economy. With Bloomberg, AFP