The stock market extended its rally Tuesday following a second day of records on Wall Street as investors cheered strong US data showing the world’s top economy was well on the recovery track.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index jumped 94.96 points, or 1.5 percent, to 6,590.11 points on a value turnover of P5.8 billion. Gainers overwhelmed losers, 159 to 61, with 39 issues unchanged.
DITO CME Holdings Corp., the third major telecommunications firm, advanced 8 percent to P11.08, while Universal Robina Corp., the biggest snack food maker, climbed 5.6 percent to P141.
International Container Terminal Services Inc., the biggest port operator and owned by tycoon Enrique Razon Jr., rose 4.9 percent to P128, but Manila Water Co. Inc. fell 4.3 percent to P15.40.
The rest of equity markets in Asia mostly rose Tuesday. The S&P 500 and Dow scaled new heights, while the Nasdaq also saw big gains, after data Friday showed far more US jobs than expected were created last month.
And the good news kept coming on Monday with figures showing activity in the crucial services sector hit an all-time high in March, as orders surged thanks to a jolt of pent-up demand. That came after a gauge of manufacturing came in at a 37-year high last week.
Markets strategist Louis Navellier said the next few weeks could see more gains for equities.
“The primary reason that April is a seasonally strong month is due to new pension funding,” he said in a note. “The other reason is that the better weather in April lifts investor sentiment, and this year buoyant sentiment is likely to be boosted by a strong earnings season against a weaker quarter a year ago.
“Second-quarter earnings growth is likely to be more pronounced, offering the prospect of a longer rally in stocks.”
Sydney, Seoul, Mumbai, Jakarta and Taipei.
But Tokyo sank more than one percent on profit-taking after recent gains, while Singapore and Wellington also fell.
Shanghai was weighed by reports that China’s central bank had called on lenders to ease back on loan growth for the rest of 2021, owing to worries about a possible bubble developing as well as rising debt.
That comes as the country’s leaders look to step back from the stimulus measures put in place last year to kickstart the economy, which is now well on the recovery track.
The strong economic readings came as traders take heart from good progress in vaccination rollouts in the United States and Britain, which are allowing governments to ease containment measures.
Meanwhile, there is also optimism that Joe Biden will be able to get a large part of his $2.25-trillion infrastructure package through Congress after officials said it would not need a 60:40 margin to pass the Senate, meaning Republicans will struggle to hold it up.
And analysts said the expected rise in taxes to pay for the program was not yet a concern for traders.
“The reopening trade is back with good reason,” Kim Forrest, Bokeh Capital Partners founder and chief investment officer, told Bloomberg TV.
“Do I think that some of that rebound might be taken off of the table because of taxes in America? Maybe near the end of that growth spurt, certainly not at the beginning—which I think that’s where we are here.” With AFP