The stock market fell slightly Tuesday in cautious trading ahead of the release of key economic data next week, including the gross domestic product figures in the second quarter and the inflation rate in July.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index slipped 38.06 points, or 0.5 percent, to 8,150.46 on a value turnover of P6.9 billion. Losers beat gainers, 115 to 85, withy 49 issues unchanged.
Semirara Mining Power Corp. of the Consunji Group declined 2.5 percent to P23.30, while Universal Robina Corp., the biggest snack food maker, dropped 1.5 percent to P167.50.
Globe Telecom Inc., the largest telecommunications firm, lost 3.1 percent to P2,190, but International Container Terminal Services Inc., the biggest port operator, advanced 4.7 percent to P135.
Meanwhile, Asia markets rose modestly on Tuesday, with investors doubtful of any major breakthroughs in the latest round of US-China trade talks getting underway in Shanghai.
The two-day negotiations in the financial hub will be the first face-to-face discussions since negotiations collapsed in May, when US President Donald Trump accused China of reneging on its commitments.
Washington and Beijing have so far hit each other with punitive tariffs covering more than $360 billion in two-way trade in the year-long dispute.
But little of substance is expected and both sides have worked to lower expectations ahead of the meeting.
“Realistically, this round of talks is about clarifying where the two sides stand after a significant lull in engagement,” said Jake Parker, senior vice president at the US-China Business Council.
“There also needs to be a focus on rebuilding trust that was present in April but has since dissipated.”
Hong Kong was up 0.2 percent in the afternoon while Shanghai closed 0.4 percent higher.
Huawei reported a 23 percent surge in revenue for the six months to June despite the blacklisting of the Chinese telecom giant by US President Donald Trump on national security concerns.
Tokyo ended 0.4 percent higher, with traders lacking a set of clear trading pegs from a raft of economic data released by the Japanese government before the opening bell.
Entertainment giant Nintendo saw quarterly net profits down 46 percent, rival Sony posted a 33 percent drop, while major air carrier ANA Holdings saw its bottom line profits slip by more than 30 percent on rising costs and a higher tax burden.
Sydney closed up 0.3 percent, just below a nearly 12-year high for the ASX200 blue chip index.
Australian shares have been steadily climbing since January, receiving a boost from lower interest rates and the re-election of the country’s ruling conservative government.
Elsewhere in the region, Seoul pared Monday’s losses to rise 0.5 percent in the morning, while Taipei was down 0.5 percent.
The Bank of Japan kickstarted several major central bank announcements this week after wrapping up its policy meeting on Tuesday with a status quo announcement.
US Federal Reserve policymakers will also start a two-day meeting later Tuesday amid expectations of the first interest rate cut in a decade. With AFP
