The stock market’s main PSEi closed higher Thursday, buoyed mainly by bargain hunting in select stocks and the positive results of trading overnight in the US market.
Speculation about a possible policy rate cut by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) when it meets mid-next month also gave market players the impetus to hunt for bargains, an economist said.
The main index gained 30.52 points or 0.48 percent to close at 6,378.86.
The broader All Shares index rose 6.81 points or 0.18 percent to 3,705.34.
But decliners edged advancers 107 to 95, with 42 stocks closing unchanged. Trading turnover reached P4.09 billion.
Japhet Tantiangco, analyst at Philstocks Financial Inc., said bargain hunting helped the market further after initial investor sentiment already reflected positive influence from the US market overnight.
“The bargain hunting continued which in turn extended the local market’s gains. The positive cues from Wall Street’s overnight performance also helped in Thursday’s performance,” he said.
Separately, Michael Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp., said investors were also betting on a “possible local policy rate cut as early as the next Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas rate-setting meeting on February 13, 2025, its first this year, based on recent signals from local monetary officials.”
Wall Street’s indexes rose on Wednesday, as investors cheered streaming video provider Netflix’s quarterly report and President Donald Trump’s private-sector artificial intelligence infrastructure investment plan., according to Reuters.
The peso closed at 58.693 to the dollar, down from 58.51 on Wednesday. The currency opened at 58.54, an intraday high, hitting a low of 58.70. Trading turnover reached $1.27 billion.
The South Korean won was last trading at 1,437.30, a few pips off its five-week high touched on Wednesday. Analysts at Maybank highlighted” plenty of concerns” for the won despite its recent strength.
Besides the political uncertainty,” there also remains risks that the BOK (Bank of Korea) could cut rates in the coming months given the economic concerns,” they said.
The dollar index was flat at 108.28, after tumbling from 109.34 on Monday – the steepest one-day slide since November 2023 – as Trump‘s first day in office brought a barrage of executive orders though none on tariffs. However, he did threaten more tariffs on a number of trading partners.
”If he (Trump) follows through with his tariff threat on China, it could put renewed depreciation on Asian currencies,” said Lloyd Chan, a senior currency analyst at MUFG Bank.
The Malaysian ringgit slipped, but continued to hover near a one-month high after its central bank held interest rates steady on Wednesday.
Traders are awaiting the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) first policy decision of 2025, due on Friday. Singapore’s core inflation rose 1.8 percent in December from a year earlier. This might lead the MAS to a possible forex policy easing on Friday, analysts at Barclays said in a note.
“We believe a 100 bp slope reduction is more likely than 50 basis points if there is no re-centring.”
Traders are also looking keenly at the Bank of Japan’s (BOJ) policy decision due on Friday. Markets are increasingly confident that the BOJ will raise its short-term policy rate on Friday by a quarter-point to 0.5 percent.
Most actively traded International Container Terminal Services Inc. lost P4.80 at P390.20. BDO Unibank Inc. gained P5.10 to P147.60. Synergy Grid Corp. of the Philippines dropped P1.24 to P11.88. Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. closed up P0.25 at P71.30. SM Investments Corp. appreciated by P15 to P860. JG Summit Holdings Inc. declined P1.10 to P17.60. SM Prime Holdings Inc. went down by P0.20 at P24.25. Bank of the Philippine Islands lost P0.50 at P124. –With a report from Reuters