Strong Phl 2013 growth tempers market losses

MANILA, Philippines - A fresh round of US Federal Reserve tapering pushed local stocks in the red yesterday, but losses were tempered by upbeat fourth quarter Philippine economic growth.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index dropped 0.47 percent or 28.65 points to 6,041.19, hanging on to the 6,000 level despite an early selloff. The broader all shares index fell 0.44 percent or 16.34 points to 3,675.92.

The bellwether index hit an intraday low at 5,984.12 in early trades as emerging markets reacted to the decision of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) to cut back its monthly bond buying by another $10 billion to $65 billion. It is the last US FOMC meeting led by outgoing US Fed Ben Bernanke.

Wall Street reacted negatively to less liquidity in the market, with the Dow Jones industrial average losing 1.19 percent or 189.77 points to end at 15,738.79, while the broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index shed 1.02 percent or 18.30 points to 1,774.20.

“Asian markets were dragged by weak China manufacturing numbers and the US Fed pressing on with cuts to quantitative easing. This twin development actually has obviously impacted negatively on trading sentiments,” said Justino Calaycay Jr., analyst at Accord Capital Equities Corp.

But losses were cut following strong fourth quarter growth despite an earthquake, supertyphoon Yolanda and the Zamboanga siege.

All counters, save for the property sector that inched up 0.01 percent or 0.16 point to 2,316.74, were in the negative territory. The decliners were led by mining and oil that slipped 1.28 percent or 177.89 points to 13,735.34.