Stocks retreat ahead of GDP, Fed meet results

MANILA, Philippines — Stock investors took a cautious stance anew yesterday ahead of a US Federal Reserve meeting and the release of fourth-quarter economic growth data for the Philippines.

The main Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) closed at 7,253.61, down 34.60 points or 0.47 percent, while the broader All Shares index slipped 8.37 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 3,856.11.

Total value turnover reached P6.414 billion, with decliners outpacing advancers, 102 to 78, while 60 issues were unchanged.

“The stock market continued to trade in a tight range ahead of (today’s) gross domestic product (GDP) report,” AB Capital Securities said in a note.

The Philippine economy is projected to have expanded at a slower pace of six percent from a year earlier, based on the median estimate in a Reuters poll.

Japhet Tantiangco of Philstocks Financial said the local bourse pulled back as investors took a cautious stance ahead of the results of the Fed’s policy meeting.

“Investors remain concerned over the possible aggressive monetary tightening in the US this year. Sentiment also took a hit from inflation worries as BSP Governor Benjamin Diokno, in his open letter to President Rodrigo Duterte, said that inflation may remain elevated this 2022 due to the pork supply shortage and high global commodity prices,” he said.

Stocks have gyrated this week amid heightened scrutiny on the Fed’s meeting and whether the US central bank will clarify just how fast it plans to tighten credit and potentially slow the economy.

Stocks in emerging Asian markets also struggled to find direction ahead of the Fed’s policy meeting outcome, where investors will be looking for any hints of faster policy tightening.