Stocks retreated Wednesday on profit taking after surging to a new record high Tuesday, with the market likely to consolidate and focus on third-quarter earnings report.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index dropped 39.57 points, or 0.5 percent, to 8,358.47 on a value turnover of P11.63 billion. Losers edged gainers, 97 to 90, with 56 issues unchanged.
Universal Robina Corp., the biggest snack food maker, tumbled 3.9 percent to P144, while Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., the second-biggest lender, lost 1.7 percent to P86.50.
DMCI Holdings Inc., which has interests in coal mining, power generation, construction and water distribution, gained 3.8 percent to P16.30, while BDO Unibank Inc., the largest bank in terms of assets, rallied 2.5 percent to P139.90.
Japan’s main stock index, meanwhile, finished at its highest in more than two decades on Wednesday, leading broad gains across Asian equities following another record Wall Street close.
The rally came as the euro extended gains after Catalonia’s leader stepped back from the brink in a standoff with Spain over independence, though analysts warned of uncertainty in one of the eurozone’s biggest economies.
Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 index finished the day 0.3 percent higher at 20,881.27″•its best finish since December 1996, the year Prince Charles and Diana divorced, Bill Clinton won his second term as US president and Nintendo launched its Pokemon brand.
Japan’s corporates have enjoyed bumper profits and the economy is enjoying its best growth spurt for years, while equities have also been supported by a global rally that has seen Wall Street chalk up several record finishes in recent weeks.
Several other markets in the region are also sitting at multi-year highs, helped by hopes that US President Donald Trump’s proposed big-spending and tax-cutting promises will be implemented and fire up the world economy.
The Nikkei has rebounded from below the 15,000 mark in June last year after Britain’s vote to exit the EU pummeled world markets.
Sydney ended 0.6 percent higher, Seoul jumped one percent and Shanghai put on 0.2 percent.
Wellington edged up 0.3 percent and Taipei more than one percent while Hong Kong was flat in the afternoon.
On foreign exchanges the euro built on Tuesday’s advances after Catalonia’s leader Carles Puigdemont signed a declaration of independence but suspended it in a speech that called for talks to resolve Spain’s worst crisis in decades.
The single currency has come under strain since Catalans voted in an unofficial referendum on October 1 to break away from Madrid, fueling fears about one of the eurozone’s biggest economies.
While Madrid’s equity market retreated, the euro broke back above $1.18 for the first time since the day after the vote. In Asia it pushed on, buying $1.1830 after having wallowed near $1.1700 on Friday.
A strong German export report also supported the single currency. However, it is still down two cents from its recent highs last month. With AFP