Philippine shares rebound as trade-war worries ease

Philippine stocks resumed their climb on Thursday amid easing trade concerns and as investors picked up cheap stocks following the market’s four-day slump.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) went up by 1.08% or 68.5 points to end at 6,398.60, while the broader all shares index increased by 0.62% or 22.31 points to 3,619.

“The PSEi ended higher as concerns over global uncertainty and trade wars eased, improving overall market sentiment,” Luis A. Limlingan, head of sales at Regina Capital Development Corp., said in a Viber message. “Investors turned to bargain hunting, which provided support to the index. This came after four consecutive days of market decline.”

“The PSEi bounced back this Thursday following four consecutive days of decline… Investors hunted for bargains supported by the positive spillovers from Wall Street. This comes amid hopes that the conflict between the US and selected European countries would de-escalate following US President Donald Trump’s announcement saying a framework for a future deal for Greenland has already been made,” Philstocks Financial, Inc. Research Manager Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco said in a Viber message.

Wall Street ended higher on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 posting its biggest one-day percentage gain in two months, as investors were buoyed by news that a framework for an agreement on Greenland had been reached and the possibility of new US tariffs on European allies had been averted, Reuters reported.

“We have formed the framework of a future deal with respect to Greenland and, in fact, the entire Arctic Region,” US President Donald J. Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Based upon this understanding, I will not be imposing the tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on February 1st.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 588.64 points or 1.21% to 49,077.23; the S&P 500 gained 78.76 points or 1.16% to 6,875.62; and the Nasdaq Composite gained 270.50 points or 1.18% to 23,224.83.

Mr. Tantiangco said the peso’s recovery against the dollar also helped improve sentiment. The peso ended at an over two-week high of PHP 59.16 versus the greenback on Thursday, rising by 10.1 centavos from PHP 59.261 on Wednesday.

Majority of sectoral indices closed higher on Thursday. Holding firms jumped by 1.27% or 64.08 points to 5,099.93; financials went up by 1.01% or 21.56 points to 2,137.91; services rose by 0.96% or 24.52 points to 2,576.81; industrials climbed by 0.88% or 79.78 points to 9,078.99; and property increased by 0.57% or 13.24 points to 2,314.26.

Meanwhile, mining and oil dropped by 1.81% or 328.38 points to 17,727.40.

Advancers outnumbered decliners, 116 to 82, while 61 names closed unchanged.

Value turnover declined to PHP 6.6 billion on 799.89 million shares traded from the PHP 6.87 billion with 1.21 billion issues that changed hands on Wednesday.

Net foreign buying increased to PHP 284.11 million from PHP 252.82 million. — A.G.C. Magno with Reuters