By Marielle C. Lucenio
PHILIPPINE shares rose on Tuesday after being in the red for much of the trading hours, as investors slowly digested news that November inflation had eased to the slowest in four months.
Market fears around the Omicron coronavirus variant had also ebbed after reports that its impact could be mild.
The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 0.23% or 16.56 points to close at 7,147.30. The broader all-share index fell by 0.17% or 6.58 points to 3,805.51.
“Better economic data, inflation rate in November at 4.2% and an unemployment rate of 7.4% in October also helped to push the market into green territory,” Claire T. Alviar, senior research and engagement officer at Philstocks Financial, Inc. said in a Viber message.
Markets will be closed on Wednesday for a religious holiday.
Inflation last month eased to 4.2%, the lowest since July and supporting expectations that the Philippine central bank will keep key interest rates steady at its last meeting for the year to support economic recovery.
This was higher than the 4% mediate estimate by economists in a BusinessWorld poll last week and above the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’s (BSP) 3.3-4.1% forecast.
The BSP has kept policy rates at record lows to support economic recovery from a global coronavirus pandemic. It is expected to keep the rates steady until yearend. Its next policy meeting is set for Dec. 16.
“Local market sentiment was also supported by lower global oil prices recently and the benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield, which is still low amid easing market concerns over the Omicron variant,” Michael L. Ricafort, chief economist at Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. (RCBC) said in a Viber message.
US Treasury yields rose on Monday after the benchmark 10-year securities climbed back above 1.4% on Friday in the wake of November job data, Reuters reported.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 1.87% or 646.95 to 35,227.03; the S&P 500 gained 1.17% or 53.24 points to 4,591.67; and the Nasdaq Composite added 0.93% or 139.68 points to 15,225.15 on Monday.
Back home, majority of sectoral indices fell on Tuesday except for holding companies that climbed by 1.11% or 75.77 points to close at 6,890.42, and property, which rose by 0.46% or 15.09 points to 3,267.92.
Meanwhile, financials shed 0.70% or 11.11 points to 1,574.02; industrials were down by 0.63% or 66.07 points to 10,317.16; mining and oil slid by 0.44% or 40.97 points to 9,198; and services fell by 0.15% or 2.97 points to 1,973.79.
Value turnover increased to P7.86 billion, with 1.98 billion stocks switching hands, up from P6.55 billion worth of shares traded on Monday.
Decliners outnumbered advancers, 137 against 63, while 36 stocks closed unchanged.
Net foreign selling decreased to P259.70 million from P269.52 million in the previous trading day.
“While we observe in the coming days if the index trades closer to 7,454.5 points, 6,800 seems to be the support level,” Darren Blaine T. Pangan, a trader at Timson Securities, Inc. said in a Viber message.
Mr. Ricafort pegged the support level at 7,000, while immediate resistance was at 7,200-7,270 points.