Stocks rose Thursday as the local market played catch-up with the Asian rally the other day after the White House proposed an economic rescue package bigger than a bipartisan plan put forward last week.
The Philippine Stock Exchange added 51.77 points, or 0.7 percent, to 7,154.43 on a value turnover of P7.6 billion. Gainers beat losers, 121 to 108, with 41 issues unchanged.
Major property developer Ayala Land Inc. climbed 3.5 percent to P40.05, while parent Ayala Corp. gained 2.4 percent at P840.
International Container Terminal Services Inc., the biggest port operator and owned by tycoon Enrique Razon Jr., advanced 3.2 percent to P123.20, but GT Capital Holdings Inc. of the Ty Group fell 1.9 percent to P656.50.
Meanwhile, politicians’ inability to reach agreements on a new US stimulus and a post-Brexit trade deal weighed on equity markets Thursday, while surging coronavirus cases offset optimism about the rollout of vaccines.
Hopes US lawmakers could be close to a breakthrough in deadlocked talks helped fire a rally across Asian markets Wednesday after the White House proposed an economic rescue package that was bigger than a bipartisan plan put forward last week.
But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer showed little enthusiasm and the two sides remain stuck on Republican demands for liability protection for businesses and the funding for state and local governments, which is sought by Democrats.
All three main indexes on Wall Street fell, and most of Asia followed suit.
Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney, Seoul, Taipei, Mumbai, Singapore, Jakarta and Wellington were all in the red, while Shanghai inched up marginally.
The need for a fresh package—after months of stalled talks—has been highlighted by spiking virus infections in the US, which have forced the reimposition of strict, economically painful containment measures.
“The hope is that Congress would by now have reached an agreement on a spending package to brace and bridge the gap for American households and businesses to when the majority of the population gets inoculated,” said Axi analyst Stephen Innes.
“Sadly, the fiscal fiasco has once again turned into a bit of a political blame game.
“The numbers are aligned for really the first time. It is now the composition where the sticking-points remain, and it’s pure politics right now.”
National Australia Bank’s Rodrigo Catril said: “An optimistic outcome would be that something is agreed next week while the prospect of no stimulus this year remains a high probability.”
Still, the politicians remain hopeful, with Pelosi saying “one way or another we will get it done,” while Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told reporters he was “cautiously hopeful we can get something over the finish line.”
There was a similar deadlock across the Atlantic, with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen unable to find common ground in crunch talks on Wednesday.
After eight months of negotiations and with just three weeks until a deadline on reaching a post-Brexit deal, the two sides are still stuck on a number of issues including fishing rights and rules for fair trade. With AFP
