Stocks retreated Wednesday, tracking the movement of Asian markets as eyes turn to a key meeting of China’s leadership and investors await the next catalyst.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, fell 66 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 8,431.73, as all six major sectors declined on profit taking.
The heavier index, representing all shares, also dropped 34 points, or 0.7 percent, to settle at 4,924.46, on a value turnover of P9.3 billion. Losers outnumbered gainers, 138 to 72, while 35 issues were unchanged.
Only three of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by PLDT Inc. which rose 2 percent to P1,700. BDO Unibank Inc., the largest lender, gained 0.9 percent to P144.80, while Jollibee Foods Corp. picked up 0.4 percent to P246.
Meanwhile, the Dow and S&P 500 closed at new all-time highs following solid results from big firms including Johnson & Johnson and Goldman Sachs, which reinforced confidence across trading floors.
However, some analysts are warning of a retreat before the end of the year, with Goldman citing the fate of Donald Trump’s tax plan as key.
Hong Kong was slightly down in the afternoon following four days of gains that have left it at a 10-year high, while Sydney and Wellington were both marginally higher.
Tokyo ended up 0.1 percent at another 21-year high—its 12th straight gain—but Seoul dropped 0.1 percent and Taipei and Jakarta also turned negative.
In early European trade, London and Frankfurt each rose 0.2 percent while Paris was 0.1 percent higher.
Shanghai edged up 0.3 percent. Chinese dealers are watching Beijing, where the Communist Party on Wednesday kicked off its once-a-decade congress to hand Xi Jinping a second five-year term, consolidating his already immense power at the helm of the world’s number-two economy.
Markets are hoping the leadership provides some idea about future policy, particularly in tackling the country’s titanic debt mountain and possible further liberalization.
On currency markets, the dollar extended its gains against its major peers. The pound was down on Brexit uncertainty and fading expectations of a Bank of England interest rate hike, despite inflation hitting a more than five-year high.
The euro is also struggling from the crisis in Spain after Catalonia’s unofficial independence referendum that has fanned worries about one of the eurozone’s biggest economies.
However, the Mexican peso rose 1.5 percent, rebounding from losses stemming from news that talks on reforming the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and the United States had been pushed into 2018 owing to disagreements between the three.
Traders are also tracking the race to lead the Federal Reserve when Janet Yellen’s term finishes early next year.
The greenback turned higher after it emerged that fiscal hawk and Stanford University economist John Taylor had impressed Trump at an interview last week, making him a front-runner for some experts and fanning speculation of further rate hikes.
Oil prices rose following data showing a drop in US stockpiles and with the commodity continuing to get support from ongoing battles between Iraqi and Kurdish forces in the disputed northern Iraq province of Kirkuk. With AFP, Bloomberg
