The stock market rose Thursday on bargain hunting to end a four-day slump, as investors picked up select issues that have been oversold.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index climbed 71.01 points, or 0.9 percent, to 7,991.25 on a value turnover of P5.1 billion. Gainers beat losers, 115 to 92, with 39 issues unchanged.
Filinvest Development Co. of the Gotianun Group advanced 10.9 percent to P14, while casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp. of tycoon Enrique Razon Jr. gained 3.2 percent to P12.08.
SM Prime Holdings Inc. of the Henry Sy Group rose 2.3 percent to P39.40, but GT Capital Holdings Inc. of the family of the late tycoon George Ty fell 2.7 percent to P1,020.
The rest of Asian stocks eased Thursday as traders anxiously awaited news from high-level US-China talks under way in Beijing while official data showed trade between the world’s two largest economies plunged.
Negotiators kicked off discussions in the Chinese capital aimed at defusing a row that has already triggered tariffs on billions of dollars’ worth of exports and threatened to stymie global growth.
Failure to resolve the dispute would initiate a sharp hike in US tariffs on $200 billion of Chinese goods, although President Donald Trump indicated this week he could extend his March 1 deadline if progress is made in Beijing.
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday that preliminary discussions in Beijing had gone “very well,” Bloomberg reported, adding that the US president was considering a 60-day deadline extension according to unnamed sources.
“Based on the positive signals from the US-China trade negotiations, further tariff hikes will likely be suspended,” noted Louis Kuijs of Oxford Economics, as US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin met with China’s top economic czar Liu He.
But a wide gulf remains on some issues. The US is demanding far-reaching changes to Chinese practices that it says are unfair.
Hong Kong dropped 0.3 percent from its highest closing level in six months the previous day, while Shanghai edged down 0.1 percent.
An unexpected rise in Chinese exports—particularly to Europe and Southeast Asia—had little bearing on markets as imports for January fell, with reciprocal tariffs taking effect and the domestic economy continuing to slow.
China’s huge trade surplus with the US—a source of anger within the Trump administration—narrowed from December to $27.3 billion.
But Chinese exports across the Pacific were down two percent, and American imports plunged 41 percent, compared to the previous January.
“The broad trend in shipments still appears to be pointing down,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics.
“The downbeat outlook for global growth means that this year is likely to be challenging for Chinese exporters, even if the ongoing US-China trade negotiations culminate in a deal,” Evans-Pritchard wrote in a research note. With AFP