Stocks fell slightly Wednesday on profit taking after the benchmark index jumped to an eight-and-a-half-month high in the previous day.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index slipped 11.22 points, or 0.2 percent, to 7,024.26 on a value turnover of P27.8 billion. Gainers, however, beat losers, 139 to 70, with 49 issues unchanged.
SM Investments Corp. of the Sy Group dropped 4.6 percent to P1,049, while Robinsons Land Corp. of the Gokongwei Group declined 4.8 percent to P16.
GT Capital Holdings Inc. of the Ty Group, however, rose 5.8 percent to P560, while Megaworld Corp., the biggest lessor of office spaces, climbed 5.2 percent to P3.63.
The rest Asian markets were mixed Wednesday as investors struggled to maintain momentum in a rally that had been fueled by news of a highly successful vaccine trial and Joe Biden’s US election victory.
Equities were already in the ascendant at the end of last week as it appeared the former vice president was on course to wrest control of the White House from Donald Trump and provide more certainty to world affairs.
But US pharma giant Pfizer and Germany’s BioNTech provided rocket fuel Monday when they said their candidate for a Covid-19 vaccine had been 90 percent effective, lifting hope for a move towards normality for the planet.
Stocks that had been beaten down for months owing to lockdowns around the world rallied, while those that had benefited—such as tech titans and makers of medical equipment—took a hit.
And while the surge appeared to stutter in New York on Tuesday—the Dow jumped but the S&P 500 slipped—Asia started on another positive note but the advances petered out in some markets as profit-takers moved in.
Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul and Taipei all rose more than one percent, while Wellington and Jakarta also enjoyed fresh gains.
But Hong Kong, Singapore, Mumbai and Bangkok all fell into the red as traders cashed out.
Shanghai was also down, while investors there were also keeping tabs on China’s massive Singles’ Day shopping sale, which will be used as a gauge of consumer sentiment as the country emerges from the virus.
Safe havens that are usually the go-to in times of crisis, such as the yen and gold, remained down from their levels of a week ago, while higher-yielding currencies built on gains against the dollar.
Hopes for a lift in demand provided fresh upside for oil prices, which climbed more than two percent a day after jumping more than three percent.
However, observers warned that any vaccination would likely take some time—with billions around the world needing the drug—while the economy remains in trouble and the disease continues its rampage.
“You still have a tremendous amount of uncertainty out there, and while equities may continue to climb a wall of worry, the stock market is still subject to the rules of gravity,” said Jonathan Boyar, of Boyar Value Group.
And while US expert Anthony Fauci called the results “extraordinary” and World Health Organization boss Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the news was “encouraging,” experts warned the data still needed reviewing. With AFP