Stocks down slightly after Fed rate hike

Philippine stocks slightly fell Thursday as investors digest the US Federal Reserve’s decision to raise policy rate by 25 basis points.

The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 1.21 points, or 0.02 percent, to close at 6,677.92, while the broader all-shares index inched up by 0.99 points to settle at 3,547.

“We observed some resilience in the market as a drop in the prices this morning was practically reversed by a surge of buying in the afternoon session,” China Bank Capital managing director Juan Paolo Colet.

Colet said while the Fed’s 25-basis-point rate hike was widely expected, the market is also pricing a 20-percent probability of another 25-basis-point increase in September.