Stock market advances; PSEi climbs above 7,000

The stock market climbed Thursday to a four-and-a-half month high, with the benchmark index topping the 7,000-point mark for the first time since February 16 this year.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index rose 38.25 points, or 0.6 percent, to 7,002.26 on a value turnover of P5.8 billion. Gainers edged losers, 108 to 100, with 36 issues unchanged.

International Container Terminal Services Inc., the biggest port operator and owned by tycoon Enrique Razon Jr., advanced 3.3 percent to P165.30, while DMCI Holdings Inc. of the Consunji Group climbed 3.2 percent to P6.70.

Wilcon Depot Inc., the largest construction supplies and home improvement retail chain, surged 6.1 percent to P21, while Puregold Price Club Inc. of retail tycoon Lucio Co. added 2.2 percent to P41.50.

The rest of  Asian markets were mixed Friday as investors struggled to maintain early momentum, with recovery optimism and vaccine hope playing against worries over a spike in new virus infections.

Traders are now looking forward to much-anticipated US jobs data later in the day, which will provide a fresh snapshot of the world’s biggest economy and possibly give the Federal Reserve further reason to begin tapering its ultra-loose monetary policy.

After Wall Street’s rally, Asia enjoyed broad gains in the morning but that tailed off in the afternoon.

Tokyo, Sydney, Singapore, Wellington, Mumbai and Jakarta were all up, while Seoul and Taipei were marginally lower.

Hong Kong and Shanghai tanked, however, following a recent run-up in the days leading into Thursday’s Chinese Communist Party centenary celebrations, when authorities looked to provide support to markets.

The rapid spread of the Delta virus variant has become a cause for concern for several governments and has forced some, including Australia and South Africa, to reimpose lockdown measures.

However, other countries such as Britain, the United States and parts of Europe were pressing ahead with their reopenings despite a surge in new cases, with vaccines appearing to help keep deaths and hospitalizations down.

Johnson & Johnson became the latest pharma giant to say its drug was effective against Delta and offered durable protection against infection more broadly. 

Confidence in the jabs and a string of healthy economic readings out of various countries is helping push equity markets higher, and on Thursday the S&P 500 hit a record for the sixth day in a row. And the general consensus is the rally still has some way to go, albeit with the odd bump in the road.

The latest figures showed US jobless applications fell again last week to a pandemic-era low, while manufacturing activity continued to improve.

Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund added to the positive mood, forecasting the US economy to expand seven percent this year, its highest since 1984, while it also upped its outlook for next year.

“With economic and earnings growth prospects robust, policy accommodative, and valuations still appealing relative to bonds, we believe the current environment is supportive of further equity gains,” Mark Haefele of UBS Global Wealth Management said. With AFP