The stock market surged Friday on bargain hunting and a government report showing the inflation rate in September slowed to a 40-month low of 0.9 percent from 1.7 percent in August.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index jumped 159.05 points, or 2.1 percent, to 7,704.60 on a value turnover of P5.1 billion. Gainers overwhelmed losers, 112 to 60, with 46 issues unchanged.
The Philippine Statistics Authority said the September figure brought inflation in the first nine months to an average of 2.8 percent, below the government’s mid-point of the target range of 2 percent to 4 percent this year.
Alliance Global Group Inc. of tycoon Andrew Tan rallied 7.8 percent to P11.28, while Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which is into toll roads, water and electricity distribution, hospitals and infrastructure, advanced 4 percent to P4.91.
SM Prime Holdings Inc. of the Sy Group climbed 4 percent to P37.75, while sister unit BDO Unibank Inc., the biggest lender in terms of assets, also gained 4 percent to P143.50.
The rest of Asian markets were mixed Friday as investors tentatively await the release of key US jobs data later in the day, following a number of disappointing figures this week that fanned concerns about the world’s top economy.
Hong Kong tumbled, with property firms among the worst hit, as demonstrators took to the streets again to protest the imposition of a law banning face masks following months of sometimes violent protests.
Tokyo rose 0.3 percent, Sydney was up 0.4 percent, Seoul fell 0.6 percent, Taipei added 0.2 percent and Wellington gained 0.7 percent.
There were also gains in Jakarta and Bangkok.
Mumbai fell 0.7 percent after the Indian central bank announced a rate cut as expected but also slashed its economic growth outlook. Shanghai was closed for a holiday.
Hong Kong sank 1.1 percent as the city’s government announced the face mask ban as it looks to quell demonstrations that have rocked the economy. But there are worries that the rarely-used colonial-era emergency power could lead to further confrontations or more, stricter laws later.
Henderson Land, Sino Land, Swire Properties and New World Development all lost more than one percent.
“It’s the response from protesters to whatever is going to be decided that matters,” Jessie Guo, equity research strategist at China Merchants Securities, told Bloomberg News. “The market is concerned that protesters are going to carry on.”
Having avoided for the past few years the growth slowdowns suffered in most other countries, a big miss on factory activity and private jobs creation indicated the United States is now feeling the effects of its long-running trade war with China.
On Thursday a measure of the crucial services sector came in at its lowest for three years, ramping up expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates for a third time this year at its October meeting.
The latest data, while missing expectations, provided a lift to Wall Street—which had plunged more than one percent on Tuesday and Wednesday—as dealers bet on another reduction.
Expectations are high for such a move. With AFP
