Stocks rose for a second day, sending the benchmark index to a near six-month high as investors cheered reports the economy likely grew 7 percent in the first quarter.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, jumped 104 points, or 1.4 percent, top close at 7,446.49 Tuesday, the highest since October last year. The bellwether was also up 8.9 percent since the start of the year. All six sectors advanced, led by property and financials.
The heavier index, representing all shares, also climbed 47 points, or 1.1 percent, to settle at 4,460.56, on a value turnover of P11.9 billion.
National Economic and Development Authority director-general Ernesto Pernia was quoted as saying the gross domestic product grew “close to the mid-range target for 2017” in January to March. The government set a growth target of 6.5 percent to 7.5 percent for 2017, compared to the 6.8-percent expansion in 2016.
Seventeen of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by conglomerate Ayala Corp. which climbed 3.1 percent to P875 and developer SM Prime Holdings Inc. which advanced 3 percent to P29.55. BDO Unibank Inc., the largest lender, increased 2.7 percent to P120, while DMCI Holdings Inc. added 2.6 percent to settle at P11.80.
The local stock market bucked the downtrend on Wall Street and several Asian markets. Financial markets in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan were closed Tuesday for a public holiday.
Other Asian stocks slipped, taking their cue from a weaker US equities session, as a rising yen weighed on shares in Tokyo. The Australian dollar dropped after the nation’s central bank left rates unchanged.
Tokyo benchmark stock index fell to a 10-week low Tuesday as a rise in the yen hit exporters after a deadly subway explosion in Russia, while Toshiba plunged almost 10 percent on fresh fears about a possible delisting.
Eleven people were killed and dozens injured after the Saint Petersburg metro was rocked by a blast on Monday, with the Kremlin saying it bore “all the hallmarks of an attack”.
Russia said it was probing the explosion as a possible terror attack, while on Tuesday, Kyrgyzstan’s security services said a suicide bomber from the country was responsible.
The dollar dropped to 110.50 yen Tuesday from 110.91 yen in New York and was well down from the mid-111 yen level seen in Tokyo earlier Monday. The yen is considered a safe bet in times of turmoil and uncertainty.
The blast on a metro train in Russia’s second city dragged US and European equities lower, after a positive start to the week across Asia, with traders also on edge about the upcoming summit between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Donald Trump.
Trump at the weekend said he expects the meeting with Xi in Florida “will be a very difficult one”, which follows a series of attacks on Beijing’s trade policies and accusations it is a currency manipulator.
Investors are taking stock ahead of a key US payrolls report on Friday and minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting on Wednesday.
Global stocks last week completed the best quarter since 2013 as the reflation trade triggered by Donald Trump’s US election victory shows resilience and stronger global growth underpinned gains. Nonetheless, risks remain, from prospects over implementation of the president’s pro-growth agenda and the path of higher US interest rates.
Institute for Supply Management data showed US factories continued to expand production at a robust pace in March, reaffirming faith in the global economic recovery.
However, worse-than-forecast monthly auto sales offered a warning that Americans may have become more thrifty. Veteran money manager Bob Doll at Nuveen Asset Management LLC is becoming increasingly worried that the American economy poses a greater threat to the U.S. stock rally than the political tensions traders are currently focused on. With AFP, Bloomberg