Share priced closed down Wednesday on profit taking. The peso was up.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) was down 3.1 points to 6,305.85, a 0.05 percent drop.
The broader All Shares index was down 0.36 of a point or 0.01 percent to 3,351.66.
Losers edged gainers 92 to 79 with 50 stocks unchanged. Trading turnover reached P5.67 billion.
The peso closed at 55.305 to the dollar, up from 55.32 on Tuesday. The currency opened at 55.30, hitting a high of 55.295 and a low of 55.36. Trading turnover reached $1.03 billion.
Claire Alviar, analyst at Philstocks Financial Inc., said investors “booked some gains after the three consecutive days of market rally.”
“Despite the market decline, foreign investors were net buyers, registering a net inflow of P378.76 million,” she noted.
Rachelleen Rodriguez, head of equity research at Maybank Securities, meanwhile, said the PSEi is poised to hit 7600 next year.
Rodriguez said Maybank Securities expects a continued profit growth momentum, despite an already high base with earnings having a 9 percent upside for next year.
ZamrosDzulkafli, Maybank economist, said the local central bank is likely to start cutting rates by the second half of next year.
Rodriguez said this can encourage a risk on attitude for most investors next year. Inflation is seen to go back to the 2.24 to 3.5 percent next year, Maybank said.
Most actively traded International Container Terminal Services Inc. was up P6.20 to P235. Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. was up P0.35 to P50.85. BDO Unibank Inc. was down P2 to P129.70. Ayala Land Inc. was up P0.35 to P31.40. Bank of the Philippine Islands was down P1.50 to P104.50. Century Pacific Food Inc. was up P1.20 to P31.50. Universal Robina Corp. was down P1.40 to P112.40. SM Prime Holdings Inc. was down P0.35 to P33. Wilcon Depot Inc. was down P0.15 to P20.10. SM Investments Corp. was up P4.50 to P828.
Most Asian currencies were muted on Wednesday, as the dollar gained ground after the latest jobs data from the United States indicated a cooling labour market, while traders awaited more economic data to assess the prospects for rate cuts by the Federal Reserve.
Data on Tuesday showed US job openings fell to a more than 2-1/2-year low in October, signalling that aggressive rate hikes have started to flow through the economy.
Additional labour data releases from the US, including the closely watched non-farm payrolls report due later in the week, are likely to give investors better clarity on where rates could be headed into 2024.
“The fact that central banks (globally) are on the same page regarding the direction of monetary policy amid a softer growth outlook suggests that their currencies are more likely to consolidate than trend in either direction,” analysts from DBS said in a note.
The dollar index — which measures the strength of the greenback against six major currencies — was hovering near a two-week high of 103.98.
Malaysia’s ringgit fell as much as 0.3 percent, tracking broad dollar gains and a slump in crude oil prices, while investors assessed the impact of OPEC+ production cuts.
The South Korean won, Indonesian rupiah, Singapore dollar and Taiwan dollar traded flat to slightly lower, although Thailand’s baht edged up more than 0.2 percent.
Taiwan is set to release inflation data later on Wednesday while Thailand’s CPI data will be announced on Thursday, providing additional clues for central bank policy rates.
Separately, India is set to conclude its monetary policy meeting later this week, where its central bank is expected to hold rates. The Indian rupee was also flat. The yuan inched lower to hit a two-week low, a day after ratings agency Moody’s lowered China’s government credit outlook to “negative”.
“Moody’s downgrade of China outlook to negative from stable is further spooking debt concerns, and adding to the headwinds for the Chinese economy and pushing investors away despite the cheap valuation,” analysts from Saxo Markets wrote.
