The stock market climbed Friday on easing inflation rate in January and in step with the rest of Asia.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index rose 73.58 points, or 1 percent, to 7,456.35 on a value turnover of P8.6 billion. Gainers beat losers, 110 to 80, with, with 54 issues unchanged.
Inflation dropped to a 15-month low of 3 percent from 3.2 percent a month ago, pulled down mainly by lower increases in the prices of housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, the Philippine Statistics Authority said.
Nickel Asia Corp., the biggest nickel miner, surged 5.8 percent to P6.34, while Security Bank Corp., the eighth-largest lender in terms of assets, advanced 3 percent to P114.70.
Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corp., which is building what is being touted as the biggest solar farm in Southeast Asia, however, sank 6.8 percent to P2.06 on profit taking, while fiber broadband provider Converge ICT Solutions Inc. fell 5.4 percent to P28.
The rest of Asian markets rose Friday as a surge in Hong Kong on its first day back from a break helped overcome a sharp drop on Wall Street, while forecast-beating earnings from Amazon added to the positive mood ahead of the weekend.
Hong Kong led the way, rising more than three percent as investors in the city returned from a three-day Lunar New Year break. Tech giants and market heavyweights including Alibaba and Tencent were among the key drivers of the gains, while financials such as HSBC also enjoyed some much-needed buying.
“It’s clearly a rebound to catch up with the world, but we need to see how Hong Kong can navigate global volatility from here on,” Joshua Crabb, at Robeco Hong Kong, said.
Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Bangkok, and Jakarta were also up. Wellington and Mumbai dipped, while Shanghai and Taipei were still closed for holidays.
However, a surprisingly hawkish tilt from the European Central Bank added fuel to fears about the removal of pandemic-era stimulus.
All eyes are now on the release later in the day of US jobs data, which is often used as a guide for possible Federal Reserve policy decisions, before next week’s eagerly awaited inflation report.
With the jobs market well on the recovery track as the economy reopens, the central bank has said it feels it has enough room to begin raising interest rates from March to fight soaring inflation, which is sitting at a four-decade high.
But while the outlook for growth remains upbeat, investors are having to recalibrate to adjust to the end of the era of cheap cash, which has helped fan a two-year rally that has pushed markets to record or multi-year highs.
Several Fed officials have come out recently to insist they will not put the recovery at risk in their tightening campaign, though debate on trading floors is rife about how much they will lift borrowing costs in March and how many more times they will do so this year.
Commentators say a strong reading on the jobs front Friday would revive talk of a more hawkish move in March with a 50-basis-point lift, as opposed to the 25 basis points usually announced. With AFP