Stocks declined for a second day, as investors weighed the impact of Donald Trump’s policies ahead of a Federal Reserve policy decision.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, lost 2 points to close at 7,227.45 Wednesday. This trimmed total gains this year to 5.7 percent.
The heavier index, representing all shares, picked up 1 point to settle at 4,369.51, on a value turnover of P5.1 billion. Advancers outnumbered losers, 96 to 83, while 54 issues were unchanged.
Twelve of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by developer Arthaland Corp. which surged 18.5 percent to P0.96 and chemical producer SBS Philippines Corp. which jumped 6.7 percent to P6.86. Geothermal power producer Energy Development Corp. gained 3.5 percent to P5.65.
Meanwhile, most Asian stocks traded higher Wednesday. Japan’s Topix gained as the yen weakened, while Hong Kong stocks slumped as trading resumed after a holiday.
The greenback strengthened against almost all its major peers, after dropping Tuesday as the Trump administration reiterated its preference for a weaker currency.
Oil stayed below $53 a barrel, while gold retreated after its best rally since June. European equity futures pointed higher and Apple Inc. shares jumped in after-hours U.S. trading as earnings beat estimates.
The dollar slid Tuesday after Trump said China and Japan play their money markets and trade adviser Peter Navarro called the euro “grossly undervalued.”
Several currency strategists alleged the claim against the euro is “false” and urged people to “ignore” Navarro, while Japan’s top currency official said the country doesn’t manipulate the yen and its monetary policy is done for purely domestic reasons.
The benchmark Nikkei 225 gained 0.56 percent, or 106.74 points, to 19,148.08, while the Topix index of all first-section issues was up 0.40 percent, or 6.10 points, at 1,527.77.
The Nikkei tumbled on Monday and Tuesday with investors around the world spooked by US President Donald Trump’s flurry of executive orders that have fueled worries about the outlook for the global economy.
“You look at what China is doing and what Japan has done over the years, and they played the money market and the devaluation market and we sit there like a bunch of dummies,” he said at a White House meeting with business executives.
The remarks sent the dollar falling to as low as 112.08 yen at one point in New York, from 113.44 yen earlier Tuesday in Asia. On Wednesday the greenback recovered to 113.32 yen by mid-afternoon.
Japanese authorities denied any currency manipulation on their part and said the goal of their financial policy is to pull the nation out of years of on-off deflation and kickstart the fragile economy.
“It is a risk factor to have Trump saying this-and-that against a weaker yen,” said Tetsuo Seshimo, a portfolio manager at Saison Asset Management.
“But, weakening the currency through monetary easing hasn’t been something specific to Japan. Others have been doing it including the US, so it’s not like this remark will have material impact,” he told Bloomberg News.
Wednesday’s market also got some support from dealers picking up cheap stocks. With AFP, Bloomberg
