Stocks rebounded Thursday from a three-day slump, after debt watcher Moody’s Investors Service said recent political developments will not affect the country’s investment-grade credit rating.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, rose 47 points, or 0.6 percent, to close at 7,667.07, bringing total gains this year to 10.3 percent.
The heavier index, representing all shares, also advanced 23 points, or 0.5 percent, to settle at 4,565.53, on a value turnover of P9 billion. Advancers led losers, 94 to 85, while 50 issues were unchanged.
Fifteen of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by builder Megawide Construction Corp. which climbed 4.2 percent to P14.38 and PLDT Inc. which gained 3.2 percent to P1,869. Security Bank Corp. picked up 2.3 percent to P230.40.
Meanwhile, Asian markets mostly fell Thursday following a recent run of gains but Hong Kong and Shanghai traders cheered data showing Chinese imports rose in August for the first time in almost two years.
Regional shares have enjoyed a strong run since the start of the month, fueled by optimism about the state of the US economy and the prospects of borrowing costs being kept at ultra-low levels until at least December.
But the rally petered out Thursday as investors put their foot on the brake.
Tokyo closed down 0.3 percent but the standout performer was Nintendo, which soared on news it had developed an exclusive Super Mario game for Apple.
Sydney lost 0.7 percent and Seoul shed 0.7 percent. Singapore, Wellington and Bangkok also witnessed sharp losses.
“With the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan [policy] meetings ahead of us, investors can’t make any outsized moves before the major events are over,” Takashi Hiroki, chief strategist at Monex Securities in Tokyo, told Bloomberg News.
“We have a lack of reasons to move, and have been seeing a directionless market for some time.”
But Hong Kong was up 0.4 percent in the afternoon and Shanghai ended 0.1 percent higher, reversing its early losses thanks to the trade figures.
China’s customs department said August imports rose 1.5 percent on-year, the first increase in 22 months, while exports fell less than expected thanks to weakness in the country’s yuan currency. With AFP, Bloomberg