Share prices ended higher Wednesday, tracking overseas leads.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) was up 15.61 points to 6,769.62, a 0.23 percent hike.
The broader all shares index was up 6.33 points to 3,604.84, a 0.18 percent hike.
Gainers edged losers 109 to 78 with 46 stocks unchanged. Trading turnover reached P5.37 billion.
The peso closed at 52.915 to the dollar, up from 52.95.
The currency opened at 52.90 and hit a high of 52.85 and a low of 52.935. Trading turnover reached $635.56 million.
Currencies in the region were largely subdued, following a dip in the US dollar after Target Corp warned about excess inventory and said it would cut prices, offering some relief to those who think inflation may be peaking, Reuters reported.
“The market is still digesting that the US Federal Reserve is sticking to its aggressive path in a bid to tame inflation. The US economy has not slowed down enough for inflation to be under control yet,” said Moh Siong Sim, FX Strategist at Bank of Singapore.
Mounting supply constraints and prospects of demand growth from China pushed oil prices further higher, thereby weighing on the regional currencies.
Meanwhile, the World Bank slashed its global growth forecast by nearly a third to 2.9 percent for 2022, warning that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has compounded the damage from the COVID-19 pandemic, and many countries now face recession.
Luis Limlingan, managing director at Regina Capital and Development Corp., said the market moved up for the second day “as global markets shrugged off some signs of an economic slowdown ahead of a key inflation reading.”
“The World Bank slashed its global growth forecast to 2.9 percent from its initial projection of 4.1 percent earlier this year on surging commodity prices and uncertainties brought by the dragging pandemic,” he said.
“For the rest of the week, all eyes will be on Friday’s May CPI reading. If the reading is cooler than April’s numbers, as expected, some could interpret it as a sign that inflation has peaked,” he added.
Most actively traded Ayala Land Inc. was up P1.05 to P32. SM Prime Holdings Inc. was down P0.75 to P38.35. BDO Unibank Inc. was up P0.70 to P129. Ayala Corp. was up P15.50 to P694. PLDT Inc. was down P17 to P1,915. Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. was down P0.30 to P50.60. SM Investments Corp. was down P12 to P852. Century Pacific Food Inc. was steady at P21. Bank of the Philippine Islands was up P1.85 to P97. Globe Telecom Inc. was up P50 to P2,444.
