Stocks retreated Tuesday to end a three-day surge, as investors booked profits a day after the benchmark index rallied to a nine-month high.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, shed 38 points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 7,923.50. This reduced the bellwether’s total gains this year to 15.8 percent.
The broader all-share index also dropped 22 points, or 0.5 percent, to settle at 4,709.25, on a value turnover of nearly P10 billion. Losers outnumbered gainers, 128 to 83, while 42 issues were unchanged.
Six of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by Philippine Realty & Holdings Corp. which jumped 15.1 percent to P0.84. Port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. advanced 2.1 percent to P92, after reporting a 28-percent growth in first-quarter profit.
GT Capital Holdings Inc., the investment vehicle of tycoon George Ty, rose 1.2 percent to P1,300, while conglomerate SM Investments Corp. gained 0.9 percent to P784.
Meanwhioe, global equity markets were mixed, with Asian shares slipping after a rally to a two-year high while European stocks were bolstered by corporate earnings. The dollar strengthened and oil reversed losses.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index climbed as Commerzbank AG posted better-than-expected results. Japan’s Topix fell after closing at the highest since December 2015 in the previous session. Chinese stocks fluctuated after erasing more than $500 billion from equity values amid a crackdown on financial leverage. The Aussie fell to the lowest level since January after disappointing retail sales data.
Stocks are trading at record levels amid optimism over the global economy. Volatility is declining to multi-year lows in fixed-income and stock markets as labor-market strength and earnings continue to buoy growth, while concerns over French elections have disappeared following Emmanuel Macron’s victory this week.
Investors will be parsing comments from Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis President Neel Kashkari later Tuesday for any clues on US central bank policy. South Korean voters are going to the polls to elect their next president, while Australia’s Treasurer will deliver his budget Tuesday evening in Canberra at a time when the country’s top credit rating is said to be at risk.
Earnings continue to be released with Walt Disney Co., Mitsubishi Corp., Toyota Motor Corp. and Deutsche Telekom AG among those notable.
Voting is under way in South Korea to elect a new president following the ouster of Park Geun-hye in a corruption scandal. Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison will deliver his budget in Canberra. Economists predict a A$28 billion ($20.7 billion) budget deficit in the year through June 2018, about A$700 million less than the government forecast in its December update.
The Stoxx Europe 600 rose 0.2 percent as of 8:21 a.m. in London. Commerzbank added 1 percent as results benefited from a rise in income from trading securities. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fell 0.5 percent.
The gauge closed Monday at the highest level since June 2015. Japan’s Topix index fell 0.3 percent after jumping 2.3 percent in the previous session, its biggest one-day gain since January.
The Shanghai Composite Index rose less than 0.1 percent after a selloff brought the gauge to the lowest level since October. South Korea’s market was closed on election day.
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index dropped 0.5 percent. Banks fell after media reports the government is set to impose a A$6 billion ($4.4 billion) levy on lenders in Tuesday’s budget, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia posted weaker-than-expected earnings. With Bloomberg, AFP