Stock index hovers slightly above 8,000 on thin trades

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) closed  almost flat yesterday, ending 2.96 points, or 0.03 percent higher at 8,012.34.

On the other hand, the broader All Shares index was down by 0.66 points, or 0.01 percent, to close at 4,788.62.

The rest of the sectors were mostly down except for the services and property.

Total value turnover, was also thin at P4.733 billion. Market breadth was negative, 100 to 76, while 57 issues were unchanged.

Foreign selling prevailed at P2.7 billion while foreign buying was at P2.3 billion for a net foreign selling of P392 million.

Meanwhile,  Asian share markets edged higher yesterday as investors awaited a speech by President Donald Trump on US trade policy and on news he will likely delay a decision on whether to slap tariffs on European autos.

EU officials said Trump was expected to announce this week that he was delaying the tariff decision on cars and auto parts imported from the European Union likely for another six months.

The news boosted expectations about Trump’s speech later in the day about his administration’s long-running trade war with China.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan climbed 0.5 percent, following a sharp 1.2 percent  pullback on Monday.

Japan’s Nikkei, which dithered either side of flat most of the day, ended 0.8 percent higher. But Shanghai blue chips eased 0.2 percent after bank lending growth undershot analysts’ estimates, while Australian shares were down, too.

A positive speech on US-China trade would likely satisfy market participants even without specific details of the “Phase 1” agreement under negotiation, said Jim Paulsen, chief investment officer at The Leuthold Group in Minneapolis.

“It still feels like we’re pretty close to having something done,” Paulsen said on Monday. “Even if it’s meaningless, it will be meaningful.”

Trump wrongfooted markets over the weekend when he said there had been incorrect reporting about US willingness to lift tariffs on China.