Stocks slipped Monday, ahead of the US presidential election and the release of third-quarter earnings by more listed companies.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, shed 30 points, or 0.4 percent, to close at 7,197.19 Monday. This reduced the total gains this year to 3.5 percent.
The heavier index, representing all shares, also fell 14 points, or 0.3 percent, to settle at 4,311.28, on a value turnover of P6.7 billion. Gainers matched losers at 92 apiece, while 45 issues were unchanged.
Six of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by Global Ferronickel Holdings Inc. which surged 8.3 percent to P1.30 and Pilipinas Shell Petroleum Corp. which advanced 5.1 percent to P70.60.
Property developer Ayala Land Inc. climbed 1.4 percent to P35.30, while rival SM Prime Holdings Inc. gained 1.4 percent to P26.30, after both companies reported double-digit growth in profit in the first nine months.
Meanwhile, other Asian equities staged a rebound and the Mexican peso rallied Monday as traders breathed a sigh of relief after the head of the FBI said market-favorite Hillary Clinton would not face charges over her use of a private email server.
Investors were sent into a funk last week after James Comey said messages linked to the Democratic presidential nominee were being looked at, sending rival Donald Trump surging in opinion polls just days before the Nov. 8 vote.
The former secretary of state is considered by most investors to be a safer, more stable bet than Trump, who is seen as a loose cannon, with policies many fear could wreck the world’s top economy.
However, on Sunday Comey announced he would not change his July recommendation that Clinton not be prosecuted for putting US secrets at risk.
“Markets are likely to remove some of the risk premium taken as a precaution against a Trump victory now that Hillary Clinton will not be charged over her use of a private email server,” said CMC Markets chief analyst Ric Spooner.
“However, an element of uncertainty remains over this election. It seems unlikely that markets will make a full ‘risk on’ move until Clinton is declared the winner.”
Tokyo’s Nikkei ended the morning session 1.4 percent higher, while Hong Kong was up 0.3 percent, Sydney added 1.2 percent and Seoul gained 0.8 percent. Wellington soared more than two percent and Singapore put on 0.4 percent.
Futures on Wall Street also rallied, with the broad-market S&P 500 index up 1.4 percent and the Dow 1.1 percent higher. With Bloomberg, AFP
