Stocks rose slightly Tuesday as investors welcomed President Duterte’s decision to ease the quarantine restrictions in Metro Manila and nearby provinces.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index added 18.69 points, or 0.3 percent, to 6,956.65 on a value turnover of P5.2 billion. Losers, however, beat gainers, 113 to 96, with 41 issues unchanged.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., ninth biggest lender in term of assets, jumped 28.4 percent to P24.40 after Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. of Japan agreed to acquire over 101 million common shares or 5 percent, while BDO Unibank Inc., the largest bank, climbed 1.6 percent to P115.
Major noodle maker Monde Nissin Corp. advanced 2.8 percent to P16.04, while Emperador Inc., the biggest liquor company, added 1.9 percent to P12.02.
The rest of Asian markets fell Tuesday with investors looking for their next buying catalyst after the latest rally, while there were also concerns about fresh coronavirus flare-ups and the reimposition of restrictions in parts of the world.
Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Shanghai and Mumbai all fell, though there were gains in Wellington, Jakarta and Bangkok.
With news of President Joe Biden’s bipartisan infrastructure deal having run its course and inflation worries continuing to linger, traders are choosing to sit tight ahead of key US jobs data later in the week and the beginning of corporate earnings season next month.
Still, analysts said that despite a pause in the latest run-up, the outlook for equities remained positive as vaccines are rolled out globally.
The Nasdaq and S&P 500 each clocked up from records Monday, helped by a fresh bump in tech firms.
But Asia was unable to follow suit, with eyes on the spread of the coronavirus.
With the more contagious Delta virus variant sending infection rates soaring, several governments are being forced to act to prevent another deadly wave of the disease.
In Australia, the cities of Sydney, Perth, Brisbane and Darwin have all been put into lockdown, with leaders in the country also struggling to get its inoculation program up to speed.
The disease has also led to similar measures in South Africa, while Russia, parts of Asia, Europe and South America have also witnessed worrying spikes.
Meanwhile, a surge in Britain, which has one of the most successful vaccination rollouts in the world, has led to a number of other countries to ban flights from there or put up strict quarantine rules.
The developments have raised concerns that the forecast global recovery could be knocked off course or at least slowed.
“COVID has a big role to play internationally,” JoAnne Feeney, at Advisors Capital Management, told Bloomberg TV.
But she added: “The US is the first out of the gate with high levels of vaccinations for a large country, we should see that continuing.”
The rebound was expected to start in the United States before “spreading around the world,” she said. “The reflation trade is taking a bit of a pause, but it doesn’t mean it’s over.” With AFP