Local shares rally ahead of US Fed decision
MANILA, Philippines — Local shares rallied on Wednesday as investors tracked a surge in US equities ahead of the Fed’s looming interest rate decisions.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index climbed 3.57% to finish at 7,035.76. The broader All Shares index saw similar gains, scooping up 2.69%. All sub-indices finished in the green, led by shares in the services index.
“Philippine shares climbed as traders assessed how firms are faring amid high inflation and fears of slowing consumer spending,” said Luis Limlingan, head of sales at local brokerage Regina Capital.
The upswing on Wednesday reversed losses incurred by the local bourse since Monday. Investors have been waiting for the US Federal Reserve’s interest rate action, which many anticipate will amount to a hike of 25 basis points.
Rastine Mercado, research director at China Bank Securities, attributed the return to a host of factors.
“The PSEi headed sharply higher today on reinvigorated buying appetite due to: bargain-hunting following steep losses over the past two days and investor optimism following the release of the January manufacturing PMI figures which point to a strong start to the year,” he said in an emailed commentary.
Mercado noted that a wave of market-on-close buying kept the local bourse in the green as well. Despite this, volatility will hound markets everywhere owing to the monetary policy decisions from the US Fed and the European Central Bank.
Regional equities saw similar gains as well, with Hong Kong, Tokyo, Shanghai, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Wellington, Taipei, Mumbai, Bangkok, and Jakarta all in positive territory.
Foreign investors bought P763.9 million more shares than they sold in the local stock market. A total of 1.06 billion stocks, valued at P8.99 billion, switched hands on Wednesday. — with AFP
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