Stocks fell Friday, ending a four-day rally, as investors took their foot off the pedal in Asia following the US Federal Reserve’s decision to hold interest rates.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, shed 38 points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 7,723.60. Despite the loss, the bellwether was still up 11.1 percent this year.
The heavier index, representing all shares, also dropped 16 points, or 0.4 percent, to settle at 4,586.71 on a value turnover of P7.6 billion.
Advancers edged losers, 90 to 89, while 51 issues were unchanged.
Seven of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by mining company Nickel Asia Corp. which surged 6.6 percent to P6.94. Property developer Megaworld Corp. gained 1.9 percent to P4.79, while Metro Pacific Investments Corp. added 1.3 percent to close at P7.19.
Meanwhile, Asian shares also traded lower Friday, as trading floors calmed down after two days of strong gains. Traders piled into equities, bonds and commodities after the Federal Reserve reined in its outlook for future interest-rate increases, soothing concern that central banks globally would taper stimulus efforts.
World equities and high-yielding currencies have soared since Wednesday when the Bank of Japan said it would target boosting inflation and the Federal Reserve pressed on with policies that makes cash cheap.
But trading floors calmed down as dealers headed into the weekend, with markets moving in and out of positive territory during early exchanges.
The announcements soothed concerns that the years of ultra-low borrowing costs could be nearing an end as central bankers run out of ideas on how to kickstart torpid growth.
“There’s a very bullish case for equities considering that the Fed is now expecting only two rate hikes in 2017,” James Woods, a strategist at Rivkin Securities in Sydney, told Bloomberg News.
“There are uncertainties that could shake up some volatility in the market, including the US elections in November.”
Tokyo’s Nikkei—which was closed Thursday for a holiday a day after surging 1.9 percent –was down 0.1 percent by the break, with a stronger yen offsetting the euphoria of the BoJ’s easy money move.
Hong Kong added 0.3 percent and Shanghai gained 0.1 percent, while Sydney put on 0.5 percent and Seoul gained 0.2 percent. With Bloomberg, AFP
