Stocks jumped for a third day, sending the benchmark index above the 8,000-point level for the first time in 10 months, after the World Bank said it expects the Philippine economy to outperform the rest of the region.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, rose 93 points, or 1.2 percent, to close at 8,001.38 Monday, the highest since it finished at 8,051.40 on Aug. 10, 2016. It was also up 17 percent since the start of the year.
The heavier index, representing all shares, gained 44 points, or 0.9 percent, to settle at 4,760.27, on a value turnover of P8.7 billion. Advancers outnumbered losers, 116 to 80, while 43 issues were unchanged.
Nineteen of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. which surged 5.3 percent to P89.50 and Melco Resorts which climbed 3.4 percent to P10.
Meanwhile, Asian stocks were mixed as investors weighed the prospects for global growth. The pound slipped after a terror attack in London.
Crude climbed while Qatari stocks plunged as the political crisis in the Gulf escalated. US and Australian bond yields were near the lowest in seven months as Friday’s data on wage growth and hiring in the American labor market came in below forecasts.
The yen weakened after Friday’s gain. The peso reversed losses on signs the ruling PRI was ahead in the governor’s election for the key state of Mexico.
Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt said they will suspend air and sea travel to and from Qatar, with Saudi Arabia citing Qatar’s support of “terrorist groups aiming to destabilize the region.”
Also looming over the markets was the latest terror incident at a popular London nightlife spot, as Britain’s battle with jihadists looked set to dominate the final three days of the nation’s election campaign.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225, which closed Friday at its highest level for nearly two years, ended marginally down. Hong Kong was 0.3 percent lower in the afternoon and Shanghai closed down 0.5 percent. Sydney was off 0.6 percent while Singapore was flat and Seoul closed 0.1 percent off.
“Ugly best describes Friday’s US employment report as the headline miss was compounded by revisions lower to the previous two months data,” said Stephen Innes, senior trader at Oanda.
“The [jobs] numbers were solid enough to keep the [Federal Reserve] on track for a June hike, but not strong enough to erase uncertainties over the future Fed funds rate’s path beyond June,” Rodrigo Catril, currency strategist at National Australia Bank, said in a commentary.
Despite rallies in US stocks, the lack of wage inflation in the report prompted a decline in US Treasury yields that led to the dollar slipping across the board, analysts said.
While Fed policymakers remain tight-lipped ahead of next week’s rate decision, investors will have plenty to chew on in world politics in the coming days.
Britain goes to the polls on Thursday still reeling from Saturday’s attack that saw seven killed and 48 hurt in central London, the third attack in the country in three months.
The pound slipped to $1.2865 from $1.2889 dollars in New York.
“Britain’s election looked like a shoo-in for the Prime Minister [Theresa May] but polls now have her leading by a whisker,” NAB said in a separate commentary. “Escalating terrorism adds to the unease,” it said. With AFP, Bloomberg