The stock market surged for the second straight day Tuesday, lifted by healthy corporate earnings in the second quarter and a flat unemployment rate in June.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index jumped 113.75 points, or 1.8 percent, to 6,560.06 on a value turnover of P4.9 billion. Gainers overwhelmed losers, 126 to 57, with 54 issues unchanged.
SM Prime Holdings Inc. of the Sy Group, the biggest operator of shopping malls, advanced 4.6 percent to P33.80, while sister BDO Unibank Inc., the largest lender in terms of assets, climbed 4.2 percent to P111.
International Container Terminal Services Inc. of tycoon Enrique Razon Jr., the biggest port operator, rose 3.8 percent to P167.10, while Jollibee Foods Corp., the largest fast-food chain, increased 3.9 percent to P195.90.
The rest of Asian markets were mixed Tuesday and oil extended losses as the impact of the fast-spreading Delta coronavirus variant on the global recovery fueled concerns the outlook might not be as rosy as initially hoped.
News that Hong Kong was to ease travel restrictions, which could provide a boost to the fragile economy, was unable to stop the city’s Hang Seng Index from suffering another drop.
Tokyo, Shanghai, Singapore, Seoul and Wellington also dipped.
Sydney also fell, though buy-now, pay-later company Afterpay jumped more than 10 percent—having soared almost 20 percent Monday—after US digital payments platform Square, led by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, said it would buy it for $29 billion.
And Indian markets hit fresh all-time highs spurred by hopes of an economic rebound in Asia’s third-biggest economy. The benchmark Nifty 50 index surpassed the 16,000-point mark for the first time while the Sensex hit a fresh record high of 53,542.
There were also gains in Seoul, Taipei, Bangkok and Jakarta.
While corporate earnings continue to impress, trader optimism has taken a knock after a series of below-forecast readings from the world’s biggest economies including crucial growth drivers the United States and China.
At the same time, long-running fears that inflation could spike for months to come is fanning talk that central banks will be forced to taper their ultra-loose monetary policies to prevent prices spiraling, taking away a major pillar of the more than year-long rally in equity markets.
“I don’t think the market is concerned about Delta as much as it’s concerned about how it impacts inflation,” Shana Sissel, of Spotlight Asset Group, told Bloomberg TV.
“The longer we have Delta spread globally, the longer the supply chain disruptions will continue.”
In a sign that markets are increasingly on edge over the outlook, the yield on 10-year US Treasuries, a key gauge of growth expectations, fell below 1.2 percent. That came after US growth missed expectations and figures showed growth in factory activity slowing.
Meanwhile, a surge in COVID cases across China is increasing worry on trading floors, with millions put into lockdown. In the latest development, leaders in Wuhan said they would test its entire population of 11 million after the city where the disease emerged reported its first local infections in more than a year. With AFP