The stock market bounced back Wednesday ahead of the keenly awaited trade talks between China and the United States, with investors also playing catch-up with the rest of the region after Tuesday’s holiday.
The Philippine Stock Exchange surged 131.73 points, or 1.8 percent, to 7,632.26 on a value turnover of P6.5 billion. Gainers and losers were even at 103 each, with 36 issues unchanged.
Jollibee Foods Corp., the biggest fast-food chain, advanced 4.8 percent to P286, while Universal Robina Corp., the largest snack food maker, also climbed 4.8 percent to P139.
Manila Electric Co., the biggest retailer of electricity, rose 3.7 percent to P363, while SM Prime Holdings Inc. of retail tycoon Henry Sy Sr. gained 2.8 percent to P37.10.
The rest of Asian markets mostly rose Wednesday, while early worries over a double whammy for Donald Trump also eased.
While not expecting a major deal when officials from Beijing and Washington meet, investors are hopeful they can find a way out of the months-long row that has seen tariffs imposed on billions of dollars of goods and stock markets tumble.
Recent comments from US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, signaling plans to delay a final decision on whether to impose duties on auto imports, have also provided some cheer.
Tokyo ended 0.6 percent higher and Hong Kong added 0.5 percent in the afternoon, while Seoul and Taipei each put on 0.1 percent and Wellington closed up 0.5 percent. Jakarta was also well up.
However, Shanghai finished 0.7 percent down while Sydney shed 0.3 percent, with political uncertainty in Canberra adding to selling pressure.
The day had started with a wobble as the US president’s legal troubles deepened when his long-time personal lawyer Michael Cohen admitted several charges including illegally using campaign contributions to pay off a porn star and a Playboy model ahead of the 2016 election.
Cohen also said he had been directed to do so “at the direction of a candidate for federal office” and with the aim of influencing the election.
The claim could put Trump in legal jeopardy and throws open the prospect Cohen is about to open up to lawyers for the Russia investigation.
Also Tuesday the tycoon’s one-time campaign chairman Paul Manafort was convicted on eight counts, including bank fraud, tax fraud and a failure to declare foreign bank accounts.
However, Richard Harris, chief executive officer at Port Shelter Investment Management, said he thought Trump would ride out the storm.
“I don’t think that what we saw… in terms of Manafort and Cohen are necessarily fatal to the president,” he told Bloomberg TV.
“There are quite a lot of things that could continue and he could still ride them out. It takes an awful lot to impeach a president and it may take an awful lot for Trump not to be elected for a second term.”
On currency markets the dollar continued to stutter after Trump’s negative remarks about the Federal Reserve’s interest rate rises, extending losses against most other units. With AFP
