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Friday, March 29, 2024

Stock market slightly up; Globe, JG Summit climb

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The stock market rose slightly Monday, taking its cue from most of Asia following another Wall Street record sparked by a blockbuster US jobs report that reaffirmed the country’s recovery was on track.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index added 34.12 points, or 0.5 percent, to 7,036.38 on a value turnover of P4.3 billion. Gainers beat losers, 110 to 98, with 51 issues unchanged.

JG Summit Holdings Inc. of the Gokongwei Group climbed 1.9 percent to P64.20, while Globe Telecom Inc. of the Ayala Group also gained 1.9 percent at P1,920.

DMCI Holdings Inc. of the Consunji Group advanced 2.2 percent to P6.85, while unit Semirara Mining and Power Corp., the biggest coal miner, increased 5.1 percent to P16.80.

Asian markets mostly rose Monday, while oil prices ticked higher as top producers struggled to reach a deal on lifting output.

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All three main indexes in New York finished last week at a fresh peak in reaction to data showing far more people than expected were employed last month in the United States, as the world’s top economy raced out of last year’s pandemic-induced recession.

The Labor Department report was seen as providing the best of both worlds for investors as it also showed the unemployment rate ticking up slightly, tempering worries that the Federal Reserve will have to rein in its ultra-loose monetary policy sooner to prevent the economy from overheating.

“Overall, the level of payrolls is still 6.8 million below pre-pandemic February 2020 levels and is still below the level of substantial progress needed by the Fed,” said National Australia Bank’s Tapas Strickland.

“As such there is nothing in this report for the Fed to become hawkish about.”

The healthy advances on Wall Street provided Asian traders with a platform, and most markets extended the rally.

Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Taipei, Singapore, Wellington and Mumbai all rose.

But Hong Kong fell, with tech firms taking a hit again after China at the weekend ordered ride-hailing giant Didi to be removed from app stores, citing “serious violations” of data collection regulations.

Tencent fell 3.6 percent in Hong Kong while Alibaba shed close to three percent. SoftBank, a major investor in Didi, tanked more than five percent in Tokyo, where the Nikkei also finished in negative territory.

The move—which came just days after the firm’s US market debut following a $4.4-billion initial public offering—is the latest in China’s crackdown on the tech sector as authorities grow concerned about its increasing influence on consumers.

Still, the general feeling is that equities are on course for more gains this year as central banks maintain their accommodative policies and governments push out stimulus measures.

That, along with the rollout of vaccines, is helping offset concerns about rising cases of the more transmissible Delta coronavirus variant.

“Markets are priced for the continuation of a scenario that could not be better constructed,” said Chris Iggo from AXA Investment Managers.

“Investors are living with risks that are seen to be manageable while growth and the technical set-up of our financial system is rewarding capital allocated to risk.” With AFP

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