Stocks slump anew on US rate jitters

MANILA, Philippines — Local stocks fell anew yesterday, among the biggest decliners in Asia, after Wall Street retreated on news that US inflation jumped 7.5 percent in January, raising expectations the Federal Reserve will need to move forcefully to cool the economy by raising interest rates.

The 30-company main Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) closed at 7,270.36, down 162.26 points or 2.18 percent, while  the broader All Shares index was down by 52.61 points or 1.34 percent to finish at 3,872.13.

Total value turnover reached P22.83 billion. Market breadth was negative, 121 to 66, while 50 issues were unchanged.

“Shares retreated on a red-hot US inflation report that could trigger the Fed to hike interest rates as early as March. The US January CPI report surged to 7.5 percent year on year – a level not seen for about 40 years,” Luis Limlingan of Regina Capital said.

The mild initial reactions to the price data outside the US suggest “markets may want to look towards economic data to guide expectations, considering that we have seen many central banks walked back on their inflation stance,” Jun Rong Yeap of IG said in a commentary.

“We will be getting inflation readings out of China next week, which will be one to watch considering its impact on global prices,” he said.

Trading has been volatile this year as investors puzzle over how quickly and by how much the Fed will raise interest rates to tame surging inflation.

Asian economies also are feeling the heat of sharp price increases, with some like New Zealand already moving to raise interest rates. Central banks in Thailand, Indonesia and India opted this week to keep their benchmark rates unchanged.

Some countries in the region, such as China and Japan, are contending with both higher prices and slow growth and some are still entangled in coronavirus outbreaks that are clouding the outlook for their recoveries from the pandemic.