PSEi ends 5-day dip on rate-cut hopes
Credit to Author: TYRONE JASPER C. PIAD| Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2019 16:24:01 +0000
THE stock market cut a five-day losing streak on Tuesday on the prospect of another interest-rate reduction and amid renewed hopes for positive progress in the ongoing trade war between the United States and China.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose 0.34 percent or 26.43 points to end at 7,893.94, while the wider All Shares increased by 0.20 percent or 9.73 points to finish at 4,770.97.
“Rate-cut optimism and US-China trade talk hopes lift the market today,” Philstocks Financial Inc. said in a market comment.
Analysts and observers are expecting the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ Monetary Board to trim key policy rates by 25 basis points during its September 26 meeting on the back of easing inflation, which decelerated to 5.5 percent in the second quarter from 5.6 percent in the first.
Meanwhile, optimism over trade negotiations between the world’s two biggest economies received a jolt over the weekend, when US President Donald Trump said he did not want to make a piecemeal deal and expressed determination to sign a complete agreement.
For its part, brokerage firm 2TradeAsia said the “PSEi closes higher with net foreign buying at P111 million, lifted by SM Prime Holdings.”
SM Prime saw its shares climb by P1.25 or 3.53 percent to close at P36.70 apiece on Tuesday.
In the US, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq slid by 0.01 percent and 0.06 percent, respectively. The Dow Jones, meanwhile, climbed by 0.06 percent.
In Asia, Tokyo was up 0.09 percent, Shanghai surged 0.28 percent, Hong Kong added 0.22 percent, Seoul increased by 0.45 percent, Singapore rose 0.39 percent and Thailand climbed by 0.47 percent. Jakarta, in contrast, fell 1.11 percent.
In Manila, all of the sectors were down, except for financials and property, which rose 0.60 percent and 1.61 percent, respectively.
Volume turnover stood at 899.97 million shares amounting to P8.5 billion.
Decliners led advancers, 122-80, while 54 issues were unchanged.
WITH A REPORT FROM AFP