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Friday, March 29, 2024

Market declines; DMCI up

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Stocks fell Friday to end a two-day advance, as the market reacted negatively on China’s report that its economy expanded at a 27-year low of 6 percent in the third quarter.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, fell 45 points, or 0.6 percent, to close at 7,885.23.  Despite the loss, the bellwether was still up 5.6 percent since the start of the year.

The broader all-share index also retreated 15 points, or 0.3 percent, to settle at 4,755.04, on a value turnover of P5.5 billion.  Gainers edged losers, 89 to 83, while 46 issues were unchanged.

Seven of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by DMCI Holdings Inc. which climbed 3.6 percent to P9.10 and Puregold Price Club Inc. which rose 3.2 percent to P41.30. Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. gained 3 percent to P70.90.

Meanwhile, Asian equity markets were mostly lower Friday as the Chinese economy grew slower in the third quarter.  The reading was a drop from the previous three months but in line with an AFP forecast and the government’s 6.0 to 6.5 percent target for the year.

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While the National Bureau of Statistics said the economy “maintained overall stability”, it added that it “is under mounting downward pressure” from weakness at home and abroad.

Shanghai ended down 1.3 percent with Stephen Innes at AxiTrader saying traders were concerned the figures were not weak enough to prompt the Chinese central bank to embark on a big stimulus drive.

“With the People’s Bank of China, who arguably have plenty of policy ammunition to right the ship, probably unwilling to turn on the monetary taps, investors are taking risk off the table,” he said in a note.

Hong Kong was off 0.5 percent in the afternoon amid concern over the possibility of more violent protests over the weekend, while Sydney closed down 0.5 percent and Singapore eased 0.4 percent.

Seoul shed 0.8 percent and Wellington lost 0.7 percent, with Taipei also lower. But Tokyo closed 0.2 higher at a 10-month high, while Mumbai and Jakarta also edged up.

Hopes for the China-US trade talks were given a lift after Beijing’s commerce ministry said negotiators have “accelerated efforts” to hammer out details of last Friday’s mini-deal and were holding talks on moving on to the next phase of a wider agreement.

Donald Trump said Wednesday he hopes to sign the deal with President Xi Jinping at the APEC summit in Chile next month.

“A meaningful de-escalation in US-China trade frictions would help alleviate some of the market’s most bearish concerns, and at a minimum, it could ease the… headwinds,” said Innes.

A sense that tensions are easing provided a lift to high-yielding, riskier currencies such as the South Korean won and Australian dollar.

And the Turkish lira jumped more than one percent after Ankara said it would pause military operations in northern Syria for five days and US Vice President Mike Pence said Washington would not impose any fresh sanctions. With AFP

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