Philippine stocks advanced Wednesday as investors brushed off the “hotter-than-expected” US January inflation rate that caused Wall Street and most Asian markets to fall.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index gained 26.61 points, or 0.39 percent, to close at 6,854.53, while the broader all-shares index added 11.35 points, or 0.32 percent, to reach 3,588.23.
Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said investors were bracing for the upcoming Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas policy-setting meeting on Thursday.
Limlingan said the hotter-than-expected US inflation, which came in at 3.1 percent, higher than 2.9 percent polled by economists, raised doubts that US Federal Reserve would cut rates several times this year.
Total value traded reached P4.06 billion.