Philippine stocks rose above the 6,100 mark while the peso climbed to 57.3 against the US dollar Wednesday after the release of better-than-expected February inflation report.
The bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index jumped 57.66 points, or 0.95 percent, to close at 6,121.77, while the broader all-shares index advanced 35.58 points, or 0.98 percent, to settle at 3,664.54.
The peso also appreciated from 57.75 against the greenback on previous trading day.
Inflation rate in the Philippines fell to a five-month low of 2.1 percent in February 2025 from 2.9 percent in January, on slower increases in food prices, according to Philippine Statistics Authority.
Bank of the Philippine Islands chief economist Emilio Neri said the slowdown could boost retail and consumer-related companies.
COL Financial research head April Tan said the deceleration in inflation should give the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas room to cut interest rates.
Property index gained the most among sectoral indices, rising 2.99 percent on hopes of possible rate cut. Holding firms rose 1.16 percent and mining and oil by 1.12 percent.
Value turnover reached P7.22 billion, with 114 gainers, 77 decliners, and 55 unchanged stocks.
JG Summit Holdings Inc. was the top index gainer for the day, climbing 8.9 percent to P17.75. Metropolitan Bank & Trust Corp. declined 4.6 percent to P70.15.
Asian markets also rallied Wednesday as investors welcomed China’s economic targets and a US official signaled that President Donald Trump could dial down tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
Global stocks had tumbled Tuesday after China, Mexico and Canada hit back at US tariffs and fears grew that Europe could be Trump’s next target.
There was speculation some tariffs could be walked back after US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick told Fox Business he thought Trump would “work something out” with regards to Canada and Mexico.
“Somewhere in the middle will likely be the outcome, the president moving with the Canadians and Mexicans, but not all the way,” he said.
Investors also welcomed China’s economic targets for the coming year, with Hong Kong climbing more than two percent to lead Asian gains.
China set an annual growth target of around five percent and vowed to make domestic demand its main economic driver, as lawmakers attended the annual meeting of the National People’s Congress.
Beijing also announced a rare hike in fiscal funding, allowing its budget deficit to reach four percent this year.
It comes alongside a pledge to create 12 million new jobs in China’s cities and a push for two percent inflation this year.
The world’s second-largest economy is also planning to increase defence spending by 7.2 percent, the same as last year.
But observers have tempered expectations for an expected stimulus given that China is facing strong economic headwinds.
These include a persistent property sector debt crisis, stubbornly low consumer demand and stuttering employment for young people.
“We remain skeptical that it will be sufficient to prevent growth from slowing this year, especially given the headwinds on the external front and the lack of a more pronounced shift in government spending towards support consumption,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard, head of China economics at Capital Economics.
US tariffs, which are expected to hit hundreds of billions of dollars in total trade between the United States and China, also weighed on investors’ minds.
Trump signed an executive order on Monday to increase a previously imposed 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods to 20 percent.
He also pushed ahead with 25 percent tariffs on US imports from major trading partners Canada and Mexico early this week.
China responded by saying it would impose levies of 10 and 15 percent on a range of US agricultural imports.
Similarly, Canada announced 25 percent levies on $155 billion worth of US goods.
“There’ll be a little disturbance, but we’re OK with that. It won’t be much,” Trump said on Tuesday during his first address to a joint session of Congress since returning to the White House.
Markets responded positively to China’s ambitious economic targets and the prospect of tariff relief, with Hong Kong gaining 2.8 percent.
Hong Kong firm CK Hutchison rose more than 20 percent after the company agreed to sell its lucrative Panama Canal ports to a US-led consortium under fierce pressure from Trump.
Bangkok and Jakarta were also two percent higher while Seoul, Taipei and Manila were up around one percent and Tokyo, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore were all in the green. Sydney and Wellington slipped.
The rally extended to Europe, with London, Paris and Frankfurt all opening up.