THE PRIMARY INDEX edged higher on Wednesday as the market continued to process US President Donald J. Trump’s policy statements following his inauguration, alongside the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office’s (AMRO) optimistic outlook on the Philippine economy.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) increased by 0.12% or 8.13 points, finishing at 6,348.34 on Wednesday, while the wider all shares index dipped by 0.04% or 1.71 points to 3,698.53.
“The local market recovered as investors sought out bargains. Contributing to today’s performance were the encouraging signals from Wall Street and AMRO’s estimation that the Philippines will be the second-fastest expanding economy in Southeast Asia by 2025,” stated Philstocks Financial, Inc. Senior Research Analyst Japhet Louis O. Tantiangco in a Viber message.
“Filipino shares crept up as investors began evaluating the market implications of President Trump’s executive orders. Overnight on Tuesday, US stocks advanced as Wall Street interpreted President Trump’s trade comments as less severe than anticipated,” stated Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan in a Viber message.
AMRO asserted in its quarterly update on the Regional Economic Outlook released on Tuesday that the Philippine gross domestic product is expected to grow by 6.3% this year, the same as the prediction made in December.
This is the second-fastest growth among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, following Vietnam’s 6.5%.
In contrast, the primary indexes on Wall Street climbed on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and the Dow closing at their highest points in more than a month as investors evaluated Mr. Trump’s initial actions as US president and felt reassured that he did not commence his second term with widespread tariff hikes, as reported by Reuters.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 537.98 points or 1.24% to 44,025.81; the S&P 500 added 52.58 points or 0.88% to 6,049.24; and the Nasdaq Composite rose by 126.58 points or 0.64% to 19,756.78, closing close to its peak since January 6.
Locally, nearly all sectoral indices finished in the negative on Wednesday. Mining and oil decreased by 0.53% or 41.83 points to close at 7,720.43; holding firms fell by 0.12% or 6.82 points to 5,336.45; financials declined by 0.07% or 1.67 points to 2,178.87; property decreased by 0.05% or 1.17 points to 2,336.03; and industrials went down by 0.04% or 3.55 points to 8,918.23.
Meanwhile, services saw a rise of 0.71% or 14.83 points, closing at 2,095.79.
Value turnover increased to P4.68 billion on Wednesday, with 862.32 million shares traded compared to P3.87 billion with 1.01 billion shares changing hands on Tuesday.
Declining stocks outnumbered advancing stocks, 103 to 73, while 65 stocks remained unchanged.
Net foreign selling rose to P404.25 million on Wednesday, up from P173.15 million on Tuesday. — Revin Mikhael D. Ochave with Reuters
