Stocks rose Monday to end a six-day slump on bargain hunting and an improving trade outlook.
The Philippine Stock Exchange added 58.70 points, or 0.9 percent, to 6,317.41 on a value turnover of P4.6 billion. Gainers beat losers, 116 to 97, with 46 issues unchanged.
International Container Terminal Services Inc., the biggest port operator and owned by tycoon Enrique Razon Jr., advanced 4.3 percent to P141.20, while Robinsons Land Corp. of the Gokongwei Group climbed 4.7 percent to P17.28.
AC Energy Corp., a unit of Ayala Corp., increased 3.8 percent to P7.18, while PLDT Inc., the largest telecommunications firm, rose 2.6 percent to P1,235.
The rest of Asian markets were mixed in Asia on Monday following a record close on Wall Street as a well-below-forecast US jobs report eased inflation concerns, while oil prices rose after a crucial US pipeline was put out of action by a cyber attack.
Investors have for months been fretting the surge in activity expected in the second half of the year as economies reopen will send prices rocketing, forcing central banks”•particularly the Federal Reserve –to wind back their ultra-loose monetary policies.
But Friday’s big miss on jobs last month”•266,000 created compared with a forecast one million”•soothed those worries, with analysts saying the easy money measures including record-low interest rates will remain in place for some time.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the data “underscores the long-haul climb back to recovery” but added that she was still confident the country would return to full employment next year.
Despite the broadly optimistic view, Asian investors struggled to maintain momentum after an early rally on Monday.
Tokyo, Shanghai, Seoul, Mumbai, Bangkok and Jakarta all rose but Hong Kong, Singapore, Wellington and Taipei dropped.
Sydney closed at a record, with mining firms rallying on the back of a surge in iron ore futures to all-time highs above $220 a tonne, thanks to a boost in demand as economies reopen, particularly China. BHP shares piled on more than three percent and Rio Tinto more than four percent, while Fortescue soared nearly eight percent. Copper also hit a new peak of $10,500 a tonne.
The Dow and S&P 500 finished at all-time highs, while the Nasdaq gained nearly one percent.
“At the moment the view is very much that inflation is transitory,” Mo Apabhai, at Citigroup Global Markets, told Bloomberg Television. “The Fed having experimented for the last 10 years is trying to keep on running it hot, but at the end of the day the disinflationary forces are still very strong in the economy.”
Observers also said the news stirred debate about the outlook for President Joe Biden’s trillions of dollars worth of stimulus aimed at infrastructure and social programs.
National Australia Bank’s Tapas Strickland said: “The weekend was all about digesting the implications with opinion divided on whether fiscal stimulus is acting as a disincentive for people to seek work, or whether a slower recovery in the labour market warrants more stimulus.” With AFP