Stock market up ahead of US-China trade talks
SHARE prices firmed up on Wednesday as investors went bargain-hunting while also turning optimistic about upcoming trade talks between the United States and China.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index rose by 1.76 percent or 131.73 points to close at 7,632.26 while the wider All Shares added 53.48 points or 1.17 percent to end at 4,623.61.
Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said market players had picked up stock with cheap valuations and were also looking forward to a positive result from a scheduled mid-level meeting between US and Chinese officials in Washington.
Philstocks Financial Inc. research analyst Piper Chaucer Tan, meanwhile, said the market had taken its cues from overnight gains on Wall Street.
The S&P 500 was up 0.21 percent, the Dow Jones grew by 0.25 percent and the technology-heavy Nasdaq rose 0.49 percent.
Asian markets were mostly higher ahead of the US-China talks, which are aimed at finding a way out of a trade war that has seen billions of dollars worth of tit-for-tat tariff exchanges.
Comments from US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross that Washington was holding off from deciding whether to imposed duties on auto imports also helped, while news that US President Donald Trump’s legal troubles had worsened was largely discounted.
Tokyo and Hong Kong both ended 0.6 percent higher, while Seoul and Taipei each put on 0.1 percent and Wellington closed up 0.5 percent. Jakarta was also well up like Manila.
However, Shanghai finished 0.7 percent down while Sydney shed 0.3 percent, with political uncertainty in Canberra adding to selling pressure.
Back in Manila, all sectors registered gains led by industrials, up 2.27 percent.
Volume turnover stood at 1.6 billion issues valued at P6.48 billion.
Winners and losers were equally matched at 103 while 36 issues were unchanged.
with a report from AFP
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