PHILIPPINE STOCKS inched up on Thursday amid weak trading volume as investors preferred to stay on the sidelines while waiting for more leads, including the US consumer inflation report due for release overnight.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) climbed by 0.11% or 6.80 points to close at 6,126.89, while the broader all shares index rose by 0.01% or 0.38 point to 3,691.73.
“The market stayed flat but edged slightly higher as investors await key catalysts for a decisive move,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message. “Lower bond yields provided some support, though weak trading volumes suggest sentiment remains cautious.”
“Wall Street closed mixed last Wednesday as the broader market was propelled by a surprisingly encouraging report on wholesale inflation. The news bolstered expectations that the central bank may find more room to act to stimulate the economy,” he added.
Value turnover declined to P5.81 billion on Thursday with 3.09 billion shares traded from the P7.28 billion with 5.96 billion stocks exchanged on Wednesday.
“The local market managed to post gains on the back of bargain hunting. Investors also cheered the 0.1% deflation in the US August producer price index (PPI) as it strengthens the case for a Fed rate cut in their upcoming meeting,” Philstocks Financial Inc. Research Manager Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a market report.
The US Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said the producer price index for final demand dipped 0.1% after a downwardly revised 0.7% jump in July, Reuters reported.
The benign reading on US producer prices led markets to price in more chance of three interest rate cuts from the US Federal Reserve this year. Investors have fully priced in a quarter-point move from the Fed at next week’s meeting, with an 8% chance of a 50 basis-point cut.
With PPI out of the way, investors are now focused on the consumer price index (CPI) for August due out later in the day. A Reuters poll showed the headline CPI likely rose 2.9% from a year earlier, the biggest increase since January, while the core measure likely held at 3.1%.
At home, the majority of sectoral indices closed lower on Thursday. Mining and oil slumped by 1.28% or 145.28 points to 11,161.94; property decreased by 0.6% or 15.21 points to 2,516.89; holding firms went down by 0.23% or 11.62 points to 5,033.83; and industrials retreated by 0.03% or 3.14 points to 8,968.82.
Meanwhile, financials increased by 0.81% or 16.69 points to 2,064.22, and services climbed by 0.56% or 12.10 points to 2,169.65.
Decliners narrowly beat advancers, 101 to 100, while 46 names were unchanged.
Net foreign buying was at P150.61 million on Thursday versus the P41.35 million in net selling recorded on Wednesday. — Alexandria Grace C. Magno with Reuters
