PH stocks barely move after Fed acts as predicted

MANILA  -Philippine stocks were little changed on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve delivered an expected 25-basis point interest rate hike after its regular policy meeting.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) slipped 0.02 percent, or 1.21 points, to 6,677.92 while the broader All Shares index added 0.03 percent, or 0.99 points, to 3,547.

“The mixed reaction may be due to the widely expected move of the Fed, and while Chair Jerome Powell kept the door open to further policy tightening this year, markets are pricing only a 20-percent probability of another 25-basis point hike in September,” Juan Paolo Colet, managing director at investment bank China Bank Capital Corp., said in a note to investors on Thursday.

“We observed some resilience in the market as a drop in prices in the morning was practically reversed by a surge of buying in the afternoon session,” he added.

US stock market indices were mixed following gains at the Dow Jones Industrial Average while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq pulled back.

At the local bourse, services, property and industrial subsectors gained ground during the session while holding firms, mining and oil and financials retreated.

A total of 479.88 million shares valued at P3.83 billion changed hands while foreigners were net buyers of an amount worth P638.65 million.

SM Prime Holdings Inc. was the top-traded stock as it rose 1.19 percent to P34 per share.

It was followed by BDO Unibank Inc., up 0.34 percent to P148.70; Ayala Land Inc., up 1.67 percent to P27.45; International Container Terminal Services Inc., up 2.90 percent to P213; and SM Investments Corp., down 1.65 percent to P922 per share.