Share prices advanced Friday following a strong performance on Wall Street and the announcement of a new Cabinet economic team that is seen by investors as business-friendly.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index jumped 80.62 points, or 1.2 percent, to 6,726.14 on a value turnover of nearly P6 billion. Gainers beat losers, 99 to 79, with 46 issues unchanged.
BDO Unibank Inc. of the Sy Group, the biggest lender in terms of assets, climbed 3.3 percent to P127.30, while sister unit SM Prime Holdings Inc. rose 3 percent to P37.80.
Solar Philippines Nueva Ecija Corp., which is building the largest solar power plant complex in Southeast Asia, surged 3.4 percent to P1.85, while conglomerate Ayala Corp. of the Ayala Group added 2.9 percent to P679.50.
The rest of Asian markets climbed Friday, with Hong Kong leading the way as forecast-beating earnings reports by tech titans Alibaba and Baidu sent their shares soaring.
The positive mood put the region on course to end the week on a healthy note, and came after Federal Reserve minutes indicated the US central bank could take a breather in hiking interest rates if inflation shows signs of easing later in the year.
Still, confidence on trading floors remains at a premium owing to a range of crises including soaring prices, tighter monetary policy, China’s COVID-19 lockdowns and the war in Ukraine.
Investors were in a buying mood Friday as Hong Kong jumped more than two percent, with market heavyweight Alibaba piling on more than 11 percent and search engine Baidu advancing 15 percent.
The two firms posted better-than-expected sales growth in the January-March quarter, soothing fears about the impact of COVID and inflation on their bottom lines.
Hong Kong’s tech index jumped nearly three percent, with other giants also enjoying buying interest with JD.com and Meituan sharply up.
The reports were much-needed pieces of good news out of the world’s second-biggest economy, which is being battered by lockdowns in major cities as leaders refuse to budge from their zero-COVID strategy.
Ronald Keung, at Goldman Sachs, sounded an upbeat note.
“We do expect the second quarter to mark the bottom in growth for our companies,” he told Bloomberg TV.
“Depending on the COVID policies and the government’s policies in helping to drive back consumption confidence, we do expect easier comparables for China tech companies, particularly as you enter into September and December quarter.”
Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei, Jakarta, Bangkok and Mumbai were also well up.
Asian investors took the lead from Wall Street, where all three main indexes enjoyed a second day of gains after strong earnings from retailers including discount firm Dollar Tree, department store Macy’s and the more upscale Williams-Sonoma.
The readings bolstered hopes consumers were more resilient to inflation and rising rates, and came as a Federal Reserve Bank of New York survey showed US shoppers largely expect upward price pressures to be temporary with gains easing in the long term.
