The stock market retreated Friday along with the rest of Asia after US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin lowered US growth expectations.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index fell 76.57 points, or 1 percent, to 7,258.99 on a value turnover of P6.4 billion. Losers beat gainers, 113 to 71, with 51 issues unchanged.
Semirara Mining and Power Corp., the biggest coal miner, tumbled 5.4 percent to P141, while JG Summit Holdings Inc. of industrialist John Gokongwei dropped 1.3 percent to P77.
Conglomerate Ayala Corp. declined 2 percent to P801, while property unit Ayala Land Inc. lost 2.4 percent to P36.05.
Asian equity markets, meanwhile, extended the previous day’s losses. Tokyo’s Nikkei ended 0.5 percent lower as the stronger yen hurt exporters, while Hong Kong was down 0.4 percent and Sydney 0.8 percent off.
Seoul fell 0.6 percent, Singapore retreated 0.5 percent and Wellington 0.4 percent but Shanghai staged a late rally to end 0.1 percent higher.
“There are those out there thinking, ‘Well, markets have had such a big runup, it’s time to take a bit of money off the table,” Shane Oliver, Sydney-based head of investment strategy at AMP Capital Investors, told Bloomberg News.
“It wouldn’t surprise me to see a bit of consolidation or correction, and maybe we’re starting to see signs of that.”
The global rally fueled by US President Donald Trump is showing signs of petering out with analysts suggesting the exuberance about hoped-for spending and tax cuts may have been overdone.
That appeared evident after Mnuchin forecast three percent growth by the end of next year, warning that the effect of certain measures would take time. That compared with the four percent Trump promised on the campaign trail.
In an interview with CNBC, Mnuchin also appeared to wind back on his boss’s earlier threats to call China a currency manipulator, easing concerns about a possible trade stand-off between the world’s top two economic powers.
Stephen Innes, senior trader at OANDA, said in a note the comments “have left investors dangling about the US administration currency policy as there appears to be a subtle shift in the Trump administration’s rhetoric.”
The comments overshadowed his promise to push through tax cuts by August, and pursue deregulation on companies and banks.
“One reason the market is reading a great deal into (Mnuchin’s) views is the proximity of the comments to President Trump’s speech before a joint session of Congress next Tuesday,” Innes added.
The dollar tumbled to 112.67 yen in New York and while it made some inroads Friday, the unit was still well down from the levels around 113.50 yen earlier in Asia Thursday.
It remained wedged below 113 yen Friday, while the pound extended past $1.25 and the euro dallied with $1.06.
High-yielding currencies also pushed ahead, with the Australian dollar up 0.2 percent and South Korean won 0.4 percent higher.
Mexico’s peso surged more than one percent to 19.70 to the dollar, levels not seen since just after Trump’s November 8 election win as the country’s leaders stand up to the new US administration’s threats over trade, a border wall and immigration. The peso is up 10 percent from record lows around 22 touched last month. With AFP
