The main composite index rose for a fifth consecutive trading day, lifted by US tariff exemptions and hopes for further policy easing by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).
The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index climbed 40.58 points, or 0.66 percent, to close at 6,186.10, while the broader all-shares index advanced 18.76 points, or 0.52 percent, to reach 3,646.65.
“Philippine share pushed closer to 6,200 level as sentiment continued to improve with markets calming before the Easter holiday,” Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said.
“Sentiment also got boost from US stocks which rose led by tech gains after President Trump temporarily exempted smartphones, computer chips from new tariffs,” he said.
The peso also jumped Tuesday, closing at 56.77 against the US dollar from 57.08 Monday.
Locally, stock investors were hoping for further monetary easing after the BSP last week lowered policy rate by 25 basis points.
Among the indices, only the mining and oil sector ended in the red, declining by 0.04 percent. Industrial jumped 1.3 percent, followed by financial which rose 0.77 percent.
Value turnover remained thin at P4.05 billion, with 102 advancers, 79 decliners and 66 unchanged stocks.
With AFP
Jollibee Foods Corp. rose 4.75 percent to P230.60, while Bloomberry Resorts Corp. dipped 1.7 percent to P2.90.
Asian equities mostly rose Tuesday as some stability returned to markets after last week’s rollercoaster ride, with auto firms boosted by Donald Trump’s possible compromise over steep tariffs on the sector.
However, the US president’s unorthodox approach to trade diplomacy continues to fuel uncertainty among investors, with speculation over new levies on high-end technology and pharmaceuticals dampening sentiment.
The announcement last week of exemptions for smartphones, laptops, semiconductors and other electronics — all key Chinese-made products — provided a little comfort, though Trump’s suggestion they would be temporary tempered the optimism.
Traders gave a muted reaction to Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s remarks Monday that a China-US deal could be done in an apparent olive branch as the two economic powerhouses trade tariff threats.
His comments came as Trump has hammered China with duties of up to 145 percent, while Beijing has imposed retaliatory measures of 125 percent.
“There’s a big deal to be done at some point”, Bessent said when asked by Bloomberg TV about the possibility that the world’s largest economies would decouple. “There doesn’t have to be” decoupling, he said, “but there could be”.
Meanwhile, Trump aide Kevin Hassett said the White House had received “more than 10 deals where there’s very, very good, amazing offers made to us”, but did not specify from which countries they came.
After a broadly positive day on Wall Street, Asian markets pushed higher.
Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Taipei, Mumbai, Manila and Jakarta all rallied, with London and Frankfurt also climbing but Paris edged down.
The gains were boosted by a rally in autos after Trump said he was “very flexible” and “looking at something to help some of the car companies” hit by his 25 percent tariff on all imports.
In Asia, Toyota jumped 3.7 percent and Hyundai jumped more than four percent, while in Europe Stellantis — maker of Peugeot, Jeep and Fiat — surged five percent in Milan and Volkswagen piled on close to three percent.
And South Korea’s announcement of plans to invest an additional $4.9 billion in the country’s semiconductor sector gave a little lift to chip giants Samsung and SK hynix.
Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller provided some support to markets after suggesting he would back the central bank to cut interest rates to help the economy, instead of focusing on higher inflation.
He pointed out that prices could see a transitory rise because of the tariffs but added that if Trump reverted to the crippling tariffs included in his “Liberation Day” on April 2 then officials would be ready to step in.
“If the slowdown is significant and even threatens a recession, then I would expect to favour cutting the… policy rate sooner, and to a greater extent than I had previously thought,” he said in comments prepared for an event Monday.
“In my February speech, I referred to this as the world of ‘bad news’ rate cuts. With a rapidly slowing economy, even if inflation is running well above two percent, I expect the risk of recession would outweigh the risk of escalating inflation, especially if the effects of tariffs in raising inflation are expected to be short lived.”
However, OANDA senior market analyst Kelvin Wong warned central bankers would face some tough choices.
“Combination of slowing growth and persistent inflation, hallmarks of a stagflation environment, poses a significant challenge for the US Federal Reserve, which may find it increasingly difficult to implement counter-cyclical monetary policies to support the economy,” he said in a commentary.