Stocks rose Monday, after central banks around the world indicated they are prepared to tighten monetary policy as the global economy gets back on track.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, added 23 points, or 0.3 percent, to close at 7,866.52, as four of the six major sectors advanced.
The heavier index, representing all shares, also gained 12 points, or 0.3 percent, to settle at 4,705.01, on a value turnover of P4.9 billion. Gainers outnumbered losers 118 to 74, while 53 issues were unchanged.
Fifteen of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by miner Nickel Asia Corp. which climbed 5.2 percent to P6.73 and developer Megaworld Corp. which advanced 4.7 percent to P4.50.
Meanwhile, Asian stocks were mixed while oil extended the longest winning streak of the year. The yen erased an earlier gain sparked by the defeat of Japan’s ruling party in Tokyo elections.
The comments from major central banks such as Bank of England and European Central Bank signaled the end of policy divergence with the Federal Reserve, which has been in a tightening mode for years and supportive of the dollar.
“While we’ve known for some weeks now that policy makers at both the Bank of England and the ECB have become increasingly open to tighter monetary policy, this shift… was a sign that even the more dovish policy makers may be reluctantly accepting the possibility that monetary policy will become less accommodative,” said Oanda senior market analyst Craig Erlam.
Tokyo’s Nikkei ended 0.1 percent higher, boosted by a slightly weaker yen and a pick-up in confidence among Japanese businesses.
However, traders were spooked by a huge defeat for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo assembly elections, with his ruling party losing more than half its seats as he is rocked by a series of scandals and falling support.
Hong Kong swung through the day and was up 0.2 percent in the afternoon while Shanghai edged 0.1 percent higher, despite a better-than-expected private survey showing Chinese manufacturing expanded last month.
Sydney fell 0.7 percent and Singapore edged up 0.2 percent while Seoul ended slightly stronger. Taipei and Jakarta rose but Wellington finished down.
In China, a link opening up the country’s $10-trillion bond market to the world began on Monday, with traders able to buy in through the connect programme in Hong Kong.
The new platform mirrors previously established link-ups between the share markets of Hong Kong and mainland China that now allow foreign and Chinese investors to buy shares in the each other’s markets.
With global equities trading near a record high on bets of improving growth, stocks continue to be one of the best-performing assets this year, with emerging-market shares soaring in the first six months of 2017. History shows the dollar may be in for more pain after its worst start to a year since 2006, while the euro remains the strongest major currency this year on bets a recovery is broadening.
Central banks stole the limelight last week as a more hawkish tilt spurred some reassessment from investors on policy steps. Attention now turns to a swathe of manufacturing reports. A private gauge of China’s manufacturing exceeded estimates in June, adding to evidence that the economy is maintaining some momentum after a strong start to the year. Japan’s Tankan survey showed confidence among large manufacturers improved for a third straight quarter. With AFP, Bloomberg