Head-scratching Wall Street rally fails to astound PH shares
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) gained 0.15 percent on Wednesday in a muted response to the dramatic Wall Street upset in favor of the bulls after the US Federal Reserve saw a faster than expected jump in inflation last month.
The PSEi ended the session up 0.15 percent, or 9.11 points, to 5,904.75 while the broader All Shares Index added 0.41 percent, or 12.99 points, to 3,177.74.
US stocks were whipsawed as Wall Street indices gained more than 2 percent after a selloff in response to the latest inflation print, leaving market experts perplexed.
US inflation rose 8.2 percent in September, faster than than the 8.1 percent forecast, fueling worries the Fed would turn to more aggressive interest rate hikes to tamp down consumer prices. Bloomberg reported the gains overnight were the best reaction to an inflation report since July 2009.
Meanwhile, the local stock market was supported by foreigners with net purchases of P513.2 million. A total of 443.29 million shares valued at P4.65 billion changed hands, data from the stock exchange showed.
Investors also weighed news that Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Felipe Medalla was considering another 50- to 75-basis point interest rate hike in the next Monetary Board meeting, according to a Bloomberg television report. Philippine stock exchange subsectors were mostly higher save for declines by holding firms and services. Property, mining and oil, financials and industrials pushed higher.
SM Prime Holdings was the top traded stock as it rose 1.27 percent to P31.80 per share.
It was followed by BDO Unibank Inc., up 1.69 percent to P120; Ayala Land Inc., up 3.07 percent to P23.50; GT Capital Holdings Inc., flat at P395; and SM Investments Corp., down 3.36 percent to P762.
International Container Terminal Services Inc. was down 4.61 percent to P169.80; Ayala Corp., up 1.84 percent to P608; PLDT Inc., down 0.56 percent to P1,430; Bank of the Philippine Islands, down 0.54 percent to P91.50; and Semirara Mining and Power Corp., up 3.05 percent to P40.50 per share. —Miguel R. Camus INQ
