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Friday, March 29, 2024

Stocks climb on bargain-hunting

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The stock market rose slightly Friday on bargain-hunting, paring its gains in late trading after losses in the region and Wall Street overnight.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index gained 44.48 points, or 0.6 percent, to 7,726.72 on a value turnover of P6.7 billion. Gainers beat losers, 120 to 83, with 41 issues unchanged.

The index is still down 10 percent so far this year on worries about inflation, a weak currency and fears the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas may need to lift interest rates sharply.

Major property developer Ayala Land Inc. climbed 2.5 percent to P41.10, while Jollibee Foods Corp., the biggest fastfood chain, added 2.1 percent to P291.

Megawide Construction Corp., which is finishing the expansion of the Mactan-Cebu International airport in the central part of the Philippines, advanced 3.7 percent to P23.85, while Megaworld Corp., the largest lessor of office spaces, gained 2.8 percent to P4.40.

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Meanwhile, Asian markets mostly fell Friday as investors struggled to maintain the previous day’s positive momentum following losses on Wall Street, with technology firms tracking a sharp fall in Apple.

While worries about the Syrian crisis and a potential China-US trade war keep dealers on edge, focus has for now moved to the corporate arena as the earnings season gets into full swing.

All three main Wall Street indexes fell Thursday after a mixed bag of business reports with market giant Procter & Gamble posting lackluster results, while rising US Treasury yields also spooked investors worried about higher interest rates.

But the big news was a near-three percent plunge in Apple, which came after major chip supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) forecast sales for the present quarter would be about $1 billion down on analyst forecasts.

This fueled concerns that the smartphone sector, a massive driver of revenue for tech firms, including Apple and Samsung, was beginning to wane. The tech-rich Nasdaq lost 0.8 percent in New York.

Asia-listed Apple suppliers and other tech firms fell. In Taipei, market heavyweight TSMC plunged more than six percent and Foxconn lost 1.2 percent. Alps shed 1.8 percent in Tokyo, while Seoul-listed LG Display was off 1.2 percent.

South Korean titan Samsung was more than two percent lower, while AAC Technologies sank 8.6 percent in Hong Kong.

On broader markets, Taipei was off 1.8 percent, Hong Kong fell 0.7 percent and Seoul was 0.4 percent lower, while Shanghai slipped 1.5 percent. Tokyo ended 0.1 percent down, while Singapore shed 0.6 percent and Sydney was 0.2 percent off.

There were also losses in Jakarta and Wellington.

Energy firms dipped slightly following Thursday’s oil-fueled surge after reports said Opec officials meeting in Saudi Arabia suggested supplies looked like they were coming into line with demand. That led to worries about an Opec-Russia output cap deal that has supported prices in recent years.

However, crude remains at more than three-year highs, supported by continued Middle East tensions and signs of healthy US demand.

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