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Friday, March 29, 2024

Stocks set to retest 8,000 points

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Share prices are expected to re-test the 8,000-point mark this week in anticipation of possible a cut in interest rates this month.

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno on Friday said cutting the benchmark policy rates again was almost certain during the next meeting of the Monetary Board later this month.

Diokno said another cut in interest rates was possible amid the continued deceleration in inflation rate.

Investors at the same time will monitor the upcoming US Fed meeting scheduled on Sept 19, with further rate cuts widely expected.

BDO Unibank Inc chief investment strategist Jonathan Ravelas said the market’s close last week signaled that the index could consolidate within the 7,700- to 8,000-point levels in the near term. 

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The Philippine Stock Exchange Index last week gained 0.7 percent to end slightly below 8,000 points, while the broader All Shares Index rose 0.8 percent to 4,822.87.

“Positive developments of the US-China negotiations and the European Central Bank’s monetary easing lifts the local market, together with its regional peers,” Philstocks Financial Inc. said.

All sub-indices ended in the green, led by mining and oil which climbed 3.5 percent, services which advanced 1.8 percent and financial which added 1.6 percent.

The industrial index rose 0.9 percent, followed by property and holding firms, which inched up 0.3 and 0.1 percent, respectively.

Foreign investors were net buyers of the week by P419 million, while the average daily value traded stood at P6.1 billion from the previous week’s average of P6.6 billion.

Weekly top price gainers were Aboitiz Power Corp., which rose 7 percent to P38.95, Bank of the Philippine Islands, which gained 5.9 percent to P94.30, and AyalaLand Logistics Holdings Corp., which advanced 5.8 percent to P3.63.

Weekly top price losers were Cirtek Holdings Philippines Corp., which slumped 15.4 percent to P10.42, Global Estate Resorts Inc., which dropped 4.7 percent to P1.22, and Cemex Holdings Philippines Inc., which declined 3.2 percent to P2.72.

Meanwhile, US stocks swung to a split finish on Friday, closing little changed as investors took a breather following an extended rally driven by hopes for a letup in the US-China trade war.

The three major indices posted their third straight weekly gains, with the benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average notching an eighth positive close—its longest winning streak in more than a year.

But after flirting with new records, the results for the day were underwhelming.

The Dow inched up 0.1 percent to close at 27,219.52, about 140 points below an all-time high set July 15 and short of the high point of the day.

The broader S&P 500 turned negative, falling 0.1 percent to end at 3,007.39, while the Nasdaq sank 0.2 percent to finish at 8,176.71.

Ahead of a new round of trade talks next month, China announced Friday it will exempt American soybeans and pork from its retaliatory tariffs. With AFP

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