Share prices closed lower Thursday as investors awaited the results of ongoing tariff negotiations between the U.S. and its major trading partners.
The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index slipped 18.09 points, or 0.28 percent, to close at 6,444.14. The broader all shares index, however, rose 1.04 points, or 0.03 percent, to 3,808.39.
The peso strengthened to 56.65 to the U.S. dollar Thursday from 56.881 Wednesday.
The local bourse ignored gains posted by Wall Street overnight. Most Asian stocks also ended higher Thursday as hopes for tariff deals lifted investor sentiment.
Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said the market’s decline was a healthy correction after the index rose for four consecutive trading days.
Except for the services sector, which declined 1.13 percent, all sub-indices ended in positive territory. Mining and oil rose 1.36 percent, followed by property, which advanced 0.29 percent.
Trading activity was thin as 73.38 million shares valued at P5.933 billion changed hands.
Foreign investors finished with net purchases of P96.22 million, stock exchange data showed.
Shares of grocery chain operator Puregold Price Club Inc. rose 3.08 percent to P40.10. Conversely, utility giant Manila Electric Co.’s share price declined 2.2 percent to ₱533.
Online gaming firm DigiPlus Interactive Corp. was the day’s most actively traded stock, closing up 12.37 percent at P27.25.
Asian stock markets extended the week’s gains Thursday on optimism other countries will follow up the Japan-US trade deal with agreements of their own, as speculation builds that the EU is on course.
Investors have been on a roll in recent weeks on bets that governments will eventually hammer out pacts with Donald Trump ahead of the US president’s August 1 deadline.
The mood has been upbeat since Japan had reached a deal to lower sweeping tariffs from 25 percent to 15 percent, including those on the country’s crucial car sector.
The breakthrough fanned hopes that others were in the pipeline.
There is talk that the European Union is edging towards an agreement. Reports say Brussels could get something similar to Japan, with tariffs cut to 15 percent from the threatened 30 percent.
The Financial Times said the two would waive tariffs on some products, including aircraft, spirits and medical devices.
That came after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said negotiations were making progress, with talks planned later in the day between the bloc’s top trade negotiator and his American counterpart.
Analysts said a deal with Washington’s biggest trading entity would provide a massive boost to equities.
However, failure to reach a deal, triggering Trump’s 30-percent levies on August 1, could cause havoc on markets, analysts warned.
France has been loudest in insisting Brussels must show it is willing to deploy its trade weapon, known as the anti-coercion instrument — allowing officials to take measures such as import and export restrictions on goods and services.
Neil Wilson at Saxo Markets warned that would end up “effectively killing trade between the two… the nuclear option is on the table it seems, but for the moment expectation seems to be veering towards a deal”.
After another record day for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq on Wall Street, Asia picked up the baton and ran.
Tokyo piled on more than one percent, having jumped more than three percent Wednesday on the trade deal, while Hong Kong continued its standout year with another advance.
Shanghai, Seoul, Singapore, Wellington, Taipei and Jakarta also rose, with London, Paris and Frankfurt also on the front foot.
There were some losses in Sydney, Mumbai and Bangkok.
Traders are also keeping an eye on developments in Tokyo after Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba denied discussing his resignation with party elders on Wednesday, as speculation about his future intensified following a weekend election debacle.
Despite the saga, the yen extended its gains, briefly hitting 145.86 per dollar as the trade deal allows investors to turn their attention to the Bank of Japan’s policy meeting next week hoping for guidance on its next interest rate hike.
The unit had been sitting around 147.90 before the deal.
Bank officials have held off rocking the boat on the issue amid tariff uncertainty, but observers say the agreement can allow them to reconsider lifting in October. With AFP
