The stock market rose Thursday on bargain hunting tracking a Wall Street rally after a series of losses, while dovish comments on future interest rate hikes by Australia’s central bank boss provided a boost to sentiment.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index added 39.66 points, or 0.6 percent, to 6,593.74 on a value turnover of P5.2 billion. Losers, however, beat gainers, 99 to 88, with 48 issues unchanged.
SM Prime Holdings Inc. of the Sy Group, the biggest operator of shopping malls, advanced 3.5 percent to P37.40, while Universal Robina Corp. of the Gokongwei Group, the largest snack food maker, climbed 2.6 percent to P128.40.
AbaCore Capital Holdings Inc., a company that holds an exclusive right to lease online lottery equipment for the lotto operations of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office in Visayas and Mindanao, gained 2.6 percent to P2.73, but major property developer Ayala Land Inc. of the Ayala Group fell 2.6 percent to P27.80.
Meanwhile, most Asian markets enjoyed a rare advance on bargain-buying Thursday.
Equity traders mostly followed their US counterparts in returning to buying, with many believing the market had fallen too far too fast.
Tokyo led the gains, helped by data showing the Japanese economy performed better than initially thought in the second quarter, while Sydney was also boosted by the prospect of a slowdown in the pace of Australian rate hikes.
There were also gains in Seoul, Singapore, Wellington, Taipei, Mumbai, Bangkok and Jakarta.
London rose ahead of an expected announcement by new Prime Minister Liz Truss that she will cap energy bills to fight a cost-of-living crisis. Paris and Frankfurt were also well up.
However, Hong Kong and Shanghai fell.
The dollar resumed its upward march with the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank expected to announce more bumper increases in borrowing costs.
Equities have been ravaged for weeks by fears that global central bank moves to rein in runaway inflation by ratcheting up borrowing costs will spark fresh recessions in some leading economies.
In turn, the greenback has moved ever higher against its major peers as investors flood into the currency hoping for better returns and as a safe-haven hedge against uncertainty and worldwide turmoil.
On Wednesday, the US unit hit a 37-year high against sterling, while it was also closing in on a 32-year peak above 147.60 yen owing to the Bank of Japan’s refusal to tighten its monetary policy, seen as the key driver of that rally.
Still, Japanese officials said they were tracking the price movements and hinted at possible action if things did not improve.
The euro dipped ahead of an expected hefty rate hike by the European Central Bank later in the day.
However, there was some light, where Reserve Bank of Australia head Philip Lowe said the case for a weaker pace of monetary tightening gained momentum as rates rise. The comments provided a little hope that central banks could be ready at some point for a change of course.
Australian bond yields and the country’s dollar fell, while US Treasury yields also slipped.
For now, observers are certain the US dollar will continue to attract strong interest for as long as the Fed keeps ramping up interest rates. With AFP