Index ends flat despite 4-year high inflation

MANILA, Philippines — The sector gauges were a mixed bag with services and mining & oil among the biggest gainers. The holding firms and property ended in the red.

Total value turnover, meanwhile, reached P4.8 billion and market breadth was positive, 105 to 82 while 46 issues were left unchanged.

Asian stocks rallied yesterday as weak US data raised hopes the Federal Reserve could move less aggressively in its fight against inflation.

On the local front, the Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) finished nearly flat, but still up for the third straight day, gaining a mere 0.87 point or 0.01 percent to 5,988.59, while the broader All Shares index added 9.50 points or 0.30 percent to end at 3,219.98.

However, the country’s inflation accelerated to a four-year high in September, raising the chances of more rate hikes.

“Elevated inflation should keep the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas on notice, with the central bank likely resorting to a 50-basis-point rate hike at the November meeting,” said Nicholas Mapa, a senior economist at ING.

Inflation came in at 6.9 percent in September, up from 6.3 percent in August and from 4.2 percent in September last year.

Unicapital Securities said there was a strong market trajectory the past few days but inflation, which came in higher than the 6.7 percent median expectations, could have dampened sentiment.

It urged investors to continue taking a cautious approach as it expects volatility to persist in the near term.

Investors are watching closely as central banks raise interest rates to make borrowing more difficult and slow economic growth to try to tame inflation.

They worry that the rate hikes, especially the increases from the Fed, could go too far in slowing growth and send economies into a recession. The Fed has already pushed its key overnight interest rate to a range of three to 3.25 percent, up from virtually zero as recently as March.

A government survey showed overnight that US job openings fell to a two-and-a-half-year low in August, suggesting that aggressive rate hikes have begun to bite into the economy, thereby raising speculation of an easing in tightening and improving confidence over risky assets.