spot_img
27.6 C
Philippines
Friday, March 29, 2024

Market gains; Meralco advances

- Advertisement -

The stock market rose Friday after the European Central Bank unveiled a fresh round of economic stimulus and another interest rate cut while a report said the US was considering a short-term trade agreement with China.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index added 47.89 points, or 0.6 percent, to 7,992.32 on a value turnover of P4.5 billion. Gainers overwhelmed losers, 111, to 69, with 63 issues unchanged.

Manila Electric Co., the biggest retailer of electricity, advanced 1.8 percent to P366.40, while Universal Robina Corp., the largest snack food maker, climbed 1.5 percent to P170.50.

Major property developer Ayala Land Inc. gained 1.2 percent to P49.90, while Bank of the Philippine Islands, the third-biggest lender in terms of assets, also rose 1.2 percent to P94.30.

Global markets have been buoyed this week by a growing sense that central banks are on the brink of easing monetary policy to support growth, and on Thursday the ECB did not disappoint.

- Advertisement -

It said it would restart its bond-buying quantitative easing program to boost liquidity, provide support for struggling banks and reduce borrowing costs deeper into negative territory in a bid to kickstart lending.

The bank said it would not lift rates until inflation moved toward its goal of just under 2.0 percent over the medium term.

The announcement, while slightly short of expectations, was broadly cheered by markets, sending equities in Europe and New York higher.

“In the end, it wasn’t a big bazooka, but ECB President Mario Draghi did his level best trying to convince investors that monetary policy will remain extremely accommodative for some considerable time to come,” said Gavin Friend, a senior market strategist at National Australia Bank.

Hong Kong rose 0.8 percent in the afternoon while Tokyo ended more than one percent higher, with Sydney up 0.2 percent and Singapore 0.5 percent higher. Bangkok and Jakarta also rose but Wellington struggled.

Shanghai, Seoul and Taipei were closed for holidays.

The euro initially plunged below $1.10 on the news Thursday before bouncing back and in Asia it was standing its ground.

The news also provided further hope that the Federal Reserve would cut rates at its meeting next week, even though data showed a jump in US inflation last month.

Investors were given an extra fillip by a Bloomberg News report that US officials were considering an interim trade deal with China that could freeze or cancel some tariffs if Beijing agrees to commitments on intellectual property and agricultural purchases.

The report, citing five unnamed sources, comes as tensions between the two sides show signs of easing ahead of high-level talks in Washington next month.

China has said it would remove some US goods from its tariffs list—with big-ticket items including pork and soybeans also now being considered—while Trump announced a delay to some levies on Chinese imports.

“A lot of people are talking about, and I see a lot of analysts are saying: an interim deal, meaning we’ll do pieces of it, the easy ones first,” Bloomberg quoted Donald Trump as saying Thursday. With AFP

- Advertisement -

LATEST NEWS

Popular Articles