Stocks advance on optimism over new US-China trade talks

MANILA, Philippines — Investors eager to return to the market pushed the index to rally yesterday on optimism over a new round of US-China trade talks.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 131.73 points, or 1.75 percent, to finish at 7,632.26.

The optimism trickled down to the last gauge, starting with the broader All Shares index which moved up by 53.48 points or 1.17 percent to end at 4,623.61.

All indexes moved up to positive territory after Tuesday’s respite. Among the gauges, the industrial sector performed the strongest, gaining 2.63 percent.

Total value turnover reached P6.483 billion and there were 103 advancers and 103 decliners as well. Thirty-six issues were unchanged.

Trade officials from the US and China are expected to meet in Washington this week to discuss the trade war.  Market participants are hopeful they might be able to find a way to resolve the conflict.

However, President Trump already said he was not expecting much from the talks.

A full blown trade war between US and China could affect both economies which could eventually spill-over to the rest of the world which are also trading with the two nations.