Stocks advanced Monday, following Wall Street’s record climb last week and as investors place their bets on blue chips ahead of a two-day break.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, climbed 69 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 8,365.26, ahead of All Saints Day.
The heavier index, representing all shares, also gained 34 points, or 0.7 percent, to settle at 4,891.93, on a value turnover of P6.7 billion. Gainers outnumbered losers, 96 to 87, while 58 issues were unchanged.
SM Prime Holdings Inc., the property development arm of tycoon Henry Sy, jumped 3.6 percent to P37, while GT Capital Holdings Inc., the investment arm of tycoon George Ty, rose 3.5 percent to P1,180. JG Summit Holdings Inc. of the Gokongwei family went up 3.1 percent to P76.90.
Meanwhile, Asian stocks were largely flat in early trade as investors braced for key earnings reports and US President Donald Trump’s announcement of the new Federal Reserve chair.
Hong Kong and Tokyo shed early gains after traders—boosted by strong US growth data at the back end of last week—had initially followed Wall Street upward, while the Shanghai exchange was more sharply down.
Wall Street had closed with gains Friday on blowout earnings from tech giants, as well as strong third-quarter economic growth figures which overshot forecasts.
In New York on Friday, the tech-heavy Nasdaq and broad-based S&P 500 powered to fresh records following blowout earnings from Amazon and other tech giants and a bullish update from Apple on its latest smartphone.
Equity benchmarks fluctuated in Japan, while Chinese shares fell, with the Shanghai Composite Index tumbling the most in more than two months as the nation’s bond slump deepened amid mounting deleveraging concerns. European index futures signaled a lower open for the region’s stocks. Profit reports due this week from some of the world’s largest companies may show if there’s enough juice in the earnings season to propel leg higher for global shares.
Speculation continues around who US President Donald Trump will choose as the next Fed chair, with Governor Jerome Powell said to be the front-runner.
Trump last week stoked the sense of drama surrounding his choice, tweeting a video teasing an announcement he said would come this week. The president is leaning toward appointing Powell, according to three people familiar with the matter.
The slide in Chinese stocks came after a period of calm through the recent Communist Party Congress, as sovereign bonds extended a monthly rout amid concern the government will step up efforts to reduce leverage in the financial sector.
Early signs are also surfacing that economic data may weaken, after solid figures for most of this year buoyed equities. That largely overshadowed gains on Wall Street on Friday after US gross domestic product added to evidence of an improving global economy.
Earnings are coming thick and fast. HSBC Holdings Plc. reported a third-consecutive quarterly increase in revenue on Monday. Three of China’s big four banks also report on Monday, after China Construction Bank earnings last week fueled optimism that interest margins and asset quality are improving. Sinopec and PetroChina probably improved earnings in the third-quarter as higher oil prices helped refining margins, analysts said. Their results are in focus after Exxon and Chevron each posted double-digit profit increases on Friday. With AFP, Bloomberg