PSEi ends up despite slower-than-expected GDP growth

MANILA, Philippines — The stock market closed in positive territory again yesterday, following the release of the second quarter economic results of 7.4 percent which was lower compared to the first quarter performance of 8.2 percent but still within the government’s growth target of 6.5 to 7.5 percent.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Composite index (PSEi) climbed by 34.73 points or 0.54 points to settle at 6,468.97.

Likewise, the broader All Shares gauge gained 7.71 points or 0.22 percent to finish at 3,456.44.

Claire Alviar of Philstocks Financials said the PSEi was up as the economy grew by 7.4 percent in the second quarter.

She said lower oil and electricity prices in August provide optimism as it may push inflation lower.

The sectoral indexes were mixed with only the property and holding firms ending in the green.

Total value turnover reached P12.2 billion.  Market breadth was positive with 112 gainers versus 82 losers while 42 issues were unchanged.

Meanwhile, Asian shares mostly declined yesterday amid a global fall in technology shares, including Japan’s SoftBank, which has reported hefty losses caused by the market downturn.

Such worries are coming on top of concerns about inflation and what central banks might do to curb that trend.

Japan’s technology investor SoftBank Group Corp. dropped more than four percent in Tokyo trading. On Monday it reported a record quarterly loss of $23 billion. A global nosedive of technology-related issues, such as Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, dragged on its sprawling portfolio of investments.

Analysts monitoring Asian markets said regional tensions also remain a risk, because of the flareup between China and Taiwan after the recent visit of US House Speak Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan.