Market on 2-day break

The local stock market was closed yesterday as part of a two-day midweek break to allow Filipinos to honor the dead.

In Monday’s trading, the main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index added 69.31 points or 0.84 percent to close at 8,365.26, driven mostly by domestic investors’ buying activities as the local corporate earnings reporting season started.

Trading will resume on Thursday, Nov. 2.

While local markets are on holiday break, investors await the statement of the US Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) on its Oct. 31 to Nov. 1 meeting.

ING said in a research note that this week’s focus would be the FOMC meeting and President Trump’s appointee to the top post at the US Fed.

“President Trump is expected to name his appointment to Fed chair before he leaves for his Asian tour this Friday. The choice is now seen to be between gradualist Fed Governor Powell, who is seen as continuity of the current monetary policy and hawkish Stanford professor John Taylor. We saw opposing market reactions to both candidates last week. Currently market is pricing in a Powell appointment with US benchmark 10-year yields dropping,” the research note said.

On the FOMC’s policy statement, the market is expecting steady policy rates.