Market rises; SM Investments, AGI climb

Share prices climbed Tuesday after President Rodrigo Duterte placed Metro Manila and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal back under more relaxed quarantine rules from August 19 to 31.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index rose 87.67 points, or 1.4 percent, to 6,156.45 on a value turnover of nearly P6 billion. Gainers beat losers, 117 to 71, withy 43 issues unchanged.

Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque said Duterte also approved looser restrictions in Nueva Ecija, Batangas, Quezon, Iloilo City, Cebu City, Lapu-Lapu City, Mandaue City, Talisay City and the municipalities of Minglanilla and Consolacion in Cebu. The rest of the country will be under more relaxed restrictions than Metro Manila.

Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. of the Gokongwei Group advanced 4.4 percent to P64.70, while Semirara Mining and Power Corp., the biggest coal producer, increased 3.9 percent to P9.58.

SM Investments Corp. of the Sy Group climbed 3.4 percent to P910, while Alliance Global Group Inc. of tycoon Andrew Tan rose 3.2 percent to P6.45.

The rest of Asian stocks drifted Tuesday with traders struggling to build on the previous day’s broad advance and a record lead from Wall Street, with confidence kept in check by ongoing China-US tensions and lack of movement on a new US stimulus.

Technology firms continued to lead a rally in New York, sending the Nasdaq to yet another all-time high, while the S&P 500 closed just short of a record finish as frustrated investors wait for Democrats and Republicans to hammer out a much-needed financial support package.

Asian markets swung in and out of positive territory through the day.

Hong Kong eased 0.3 percent and Tokyo dropped 0.2 percent, while Singapore retreated 0.4 percent and Taipei gave up 0.7 percent.

Seoul tumbled more than two percent as South Korea saw a surge in new virus infections, having managed to control it for months.

But Shanghai and Mumbai rose, while Wellington jumped more than one percent again after the government delayed New Zealand’s general election by four weeks owing to a new virus flare-up.

There were also gains in Bangkok and Jakarta.

With lawmakers now in recess and both parties’ conventions over the next two weeks, observers warn the chances of anything being agreed any time soon are slim.

The two are also at loggerheads over funding for the US Postal Service, which is expected to see an exceptional number of mail-in ballots in November’s election, with Donald Trump looking to limit them over claims of possible fraud.

“A lot of investment professionals as well as retail investors are on the sidelines partially because they are waiting for this second stimulus package,” Erin Gibbs, president and chief investment officer at Gibbs Wealth Management, said on Bloomberg TV.

“It’s not a full-on risk-on environment just yet.”

But the stand-off is just one of a number of issues nagging markets, with China-US tensions continuing to sour.

In the latest salvo, the US expanded sanctions on telecoms giant Huawei to further limit its access to computer chips and other products, with officials saying the firm was using subsidiaries to circumvent measures in place to prevent exports of American technology. With AFP