Stock market retreats; Haus Talk, SPNEC rise

The stock market slipped Monday on mild profit taking, with many investors staying on the sidelines amid the still high number of COVID-19 cases in the country.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index fell 37.51 points, or 0.5 percent, to 7,223.83 on a value turnover of P5.8 billion. Losers beat gainers, 104 to 78, with 61 issues unchanged.

DITO CME Holdings Corp., the third mobile phone player, sank 9.2 percent to P5.15, while D&L Industries Inc. dropped 3.2 percent to P8.60.

Haus Talk Inc., a residential property developer, advanced 6.7 percent to P1.60 in its market debut, while Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corp., which is building what is touted to be the largest solar farm in Southeast Asia, rose 6.6 percent to P1.61

The rest of Asian stock market investors started the week on a broadly positive note Monday but uncertainty remained ahead of an expected series of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve, while data showed growth in China’s economy slowed at the end of last year.

While the fast-spreading Omicron coronavirus variant continues to cast a shadow across trading floors, the focus is on the US central bank’s plans to tighten monetary policy to fight surging inflation.

Fed officials were out in force last week flagging the merits of raising borrowing costs as soon as March, though boss Jerome Powell said they would be careful to ensure they do not knock the recovery in the world’s top economy off course.

Still, expectations that the era of cheap cash that has helped power markets to record or multi-year highs has weighed heavily for months, while data showing consumer prices rocketing at a pace not seen in four decades has added to the downbeat mood.

A weak reading on retail sales for December caused by concern about the latest COVID wave and higher prices was compounded by a University of Michigan survey showing consumer sentiment fell sharply in January.

That saw Wall Street turn in a tepid performance Friday, with disappointing bank earnings also dragging sentiment.

Despite the uncertain start to 2022 for global markets, Eli Lee at Bank of Singapore remained upbeat about the outlook.

“As we head into 2022, we believe that the post-pandemic bull market remains broadly intact,” he said in a commentary.

“Historically, bull markets do not end at the beginning of rate hike cycles, and positive trends in global economic growth and earnings continue to be positive fundamental drivers for the market.”

Asia mostly rose, with Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Wellington, Taipei, Mumbai and Bangkok up but Hong Kong, Seoul and Jakarta were down.

Mainland Chinese shares were given some support by news that the central bank had cut interest rates for the first time since the height of the pandemic last year as officials look to kickstart stuttering growth.

Data showed Monday that the world’s number-two economy expanded 8.1 percent last year—its best rate in 10 years—but slowed in the final three months as it was hit by virus lockdowns around the country and weakness in the crucial property sector. With AFP