Stocks along with the rest of Asia rallied Thursday, joining a gold rush across world markets as the initial shock of Donald Trump’s election win was replaced by hopes his plan to kickstart the US economy will succeed.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index rose 62.83 points, or 0.9 percent, to 7,181.87 on a value turnover of P7.2 billion. Gainers swamped losers, 135 to 56, with 45 issues unchanged.
International Container Terminal Services Inc., the biggest port operator, advanced 5.4 percent to P75.90, while Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., the second-largest lender, gained 4.2 percent to P81.
Puregold Price Club Inc. of retail tycoon Lucio Co surged 6.9 percent to P44, while Manila Water Co. Inc. rose 3.5 percent to P32.35.
Trading floors in Asia were awash in red Wednesday as the region’s investors were the first to react to news that the firebrand tycoon had defeated market-favorite Hillary Clinton, upending expectations.
However, a reassuring victory speech”•followed by calls by Clinton and President Obama to get behind Trump”•provided some encouragement to traders, sending risk assets rallying.
Most markets in Asia either wiped out or clawed back most of the previous day’s losses, while the dollar pushed higher.
The greenback had come under pressure on worries that uncertainty over Trump’s policies would cause the Federal Reserve to hold off an interest rate rise, but analysts said those worries had abated for now.
Tokyo closed up 6.7 percent, with a plunging yen also providing support. The dollar dallied with 106 yen before easing slightly, well up from Wednesday’s low of 101.20 yen.
In the afternoon Hong Kong gained 2.1 percent and Shanghai closed 1.4 percent up. Sydney closed 3.3 percent higher, Seoul jumped two percent and Taipei put on 2.4 percent.
There were also gains of more than one percent in Wellington and Singapore.
CMC Markets strategist Michael McCarthy said it appeared a consensus was building that much of Trump’s extreme rhetoric during the campaign “was a sales pitch rather than a commitment to act.”
“Investors ignored the potential for damage to international trade and growth prospects and focused on Republican control of both houses of Congress as well as the White House,” he said.
“This offers the prospect of reform that could stimulate the US economy.”
And Grant Williamson, an investment adviser at brokerage Hamilton Hindin Greene in Christchurch, New Zealand, told Bloomberg News: “He’ll certainly be friendly to American business and that could very well stimulate their economy.”