The stock market advanced Thursday on better economic prospects after the Asian Development Bank said the Philippine economy may grow faster this year and next after expanding 6.7 percent in 2017.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index surged 99.14 points, or 1.2 percent, to 8,043.07 on a value turnover of P5.9 billion. Gainers beat losers, 108 to 94, with 45 issues unchanged.
The ADB in a 2018 report outlook Wednesday said strong domestic demand would underpin growth in 2018 and 2019, adding investment would be supported “by large public infrastructure projects such as national and provincial roads, railways, airports, and the Philippines’ first mass transit subway.”
Casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp. rallied 7 percent to P12.84, while Bank of the Philippine Islands, the third-biggest lender in terms of assets, climbed 5 percent to P109.
SM Prime Holdings Inc. of retail tycoon Henry Sy Sr. rose 3.4 percent to P34.45, while PLDT Inc., the largest telecommunications company, gained 2.8 percent to P1,490.
The rest of Asia markets fell on Thursday as fears about a high-stakes US-Russia stand-off over Syria arrested a rally fueled by Xi Jinping’s conciliatory trade message earlier in the week.
Having enjoyed a semblance of stability this week after the Chinese president’s comments soothed trade war talk, traders are now turning their attention to the Middle East.
Nervousness mixed with profit-taking in Asia as traders cashed in recent gains.
Tokyo lost 0.1 percent, Hong Kong eased 0.8 percent and Shanghai slipped 0.9 percent. Sydney fell 0.2 percent and Singapore shed 0.3 percent, while Seoul, Wellington, Taipei and Jakarta were also lower.
With Western leaders trying to decide how to respond to an alleged chemical attack on a Damascus district, Donald Trump on Wednesday tweeted that “missiles will be coming”, defying Russian warnings against a military strike.
Trump blames Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad and Moscow for the deadly assault that killed dozens in Douma, while his press secretary added that with regards to military action “all options are on the table.”
Russia’s ambassador to Beirut warned any US missiles would be shot down “as well as the sources they were fired from.”
Adding to the geopolitical crisis was news that Saudi Arabia had shot down ballistic missiles fired from rebel-held Yemen at Riyadh.
The latest developments hit US markets, with all three main indexes ending sharply down, while oil prices shot up on fears about supplies in the crude-rich region, hitting levels not seen since late 2014 and boosting energy firms.
“The oil markets are very much linked to geopolitical tensions, especially if they’re in the Middle East, the heart of global oil exports,” Fatih Birol, executive director of the International Energy Agency, told Bloomberg Television.
“If tensions continue, they will continue to have an impact on the oil market and prices. Definitely, this will be a reason to push the prices up.” With AFP
