Stocks climbed for a second day, as a surprise announcement by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut crude output for the first time since 2008 drove commodity prices higher globally.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, rose 127 points, or 1.7 percent, to close at 7,714.86 Thursday. This pushed up total gains this year to 11 percent.
The broader all-share index also advanced 55 points, or 1.2 percent, to settle at 4,573.39, on a value turnover of P7.5 billion.
All six sectors ended in the green, while 17 of the 20 most active stocks advanced. Nickel Asia Corp. topped major gainers, with a 6.5-percent increase to P7.43. Property developer Megaworld Corp. climbed 5.6 percent to P4.89, while port operator International Container Terminal Services Inc. gained 4.6 percent to P80.
SM Prime Holdings Inc. went up 4.5 percent to P28.85, while Metro Pacific Investments Corp. added 3.7 percent to close at P7.26.
Meanwhile, Asian stocks also traded higher. South Korea’s Kospi index rallied to a 14-month high, while Malaysia’s ringgit halted two days of losses as higher crude oil boosted the outlook for the energy-producing nation.
Indian stocks sank 1 percent, the nation’s currency lost 0.5 percent and the yield on sovereign notes maturing in September 2026 climbed four basis points to 6.82 percent.
A global oil glut has weighed on crude prices for more than two years, spurring deflation that’s hurt corporate earnings and led to negative bond yields in two of the world’s four biggest economies.
Opec said its members reached a preliminary agreement to trim production to a range of 32.5 million to 33 million barrels per day following informal talks in Algiers, though the group won’t decide on targets for each country until a November meeting in Vienna.
“The energy sector is going to be a key contributor to the rally we see after the OPEC decision,” said Tony Farnham, a strategist at Patersons Securities Ltd. in Sydney. “All we’ve seen at this stage is the intention to do something, I’d like to see it more concrete and then still they have to abide by it. But, it is the first step.”
“OPEC’s decision to curtail production wasn’t expected, and now crude prices will likely head toward a range of $50 to $60 per barrel from $40 to $50 per barrel, which will ease global deflationary concerns,” said Nobuyuki Fujimoto, a senior market analyst at SBI Securities Co. in Tokyo.
China Oilfield Services Ltd. jumped 11 percent in Hong Kong as PetroChina Co., Asia’s biggest oil and gas producer, rallied by the most since May. Hsin Chong Group Holdings Ltd. plunged by as much as 57 percent as the stock resumed trading after Anonymous Analytics rated the property and construction company a “strong sell.” With Bloomberg
