US inflation jitters temper risk-taking

Philippine stocks wavered on Wednesday as investors digested the recent inflation reading while US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell warned that persistent inflation could push interest rates higher than expected.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) was marginally higher by 0.10 percent, or 6.37 points, to close at 6,711.49 while the broader All Shares Index slipped 0.13 percent, or 4.55 points, to 3,585.66.

“Equities may have been able to perform better, if not weighed by a US selloff fueled by Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s comments indicating interest rates may need to go higher for longer,” Luis Gerardo Limlingan, head of sales at stock brokerage house Regina Capital Development, said on Wednesday.

“Powell cautioned lawmakers that the central bank’s terminal rate will likely be higher than previously anticipated due to stubbornly high economic data in recent weeks,” he noted.

About P5.46 billion worth of shares changed hands while foreigners made net purchases of P12.3 million.

PSE subsectors were mixed as financials, services and holding firms climbed while mining and oil, property and industrial stocks tumbled.

Globe Telecom was the top traded stock, slipping 0.59 percent to P1,839 per share.

It was followed by: BDO Unibank Inc., up 0.39 percent to P128; International Container Terminal Services Inc., up 1.44 percent to P211; Bank of the Philippine Islands, up 0.46 percent to P109; and Ayala Land Inc., down 0.53 percent to P28.15 per share.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp. was down 4.56 percent to P4.19; Acen Corp., down 2.69 percent to P6.52; Universal Robina Corp., flat at P145; Robinsons Land Corp., down 1.88 percent to P14.64; and Ayala Corp., down 0.62 percent to P641 per share.

Overall, there were 120 losers against 72 advancers while 46 companies closed unchanged. INQ