Philippine stocks stay in the red as investor concerns linger

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine stock market stayed in negative territory yesterday with investors worried about the possibility of more rate hikes to bring down inflation.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) closed at 7,056.62, down 5.39 points or 0.08 percent.

Likewise, the broader All Shares index was down by 3.82 points or 0.10 percent to finish at 3,682.86.

The sectoral gauges were mixed but mostly down. Mining and oil, property and holding firms finished in positive territory.

Total value turnover reached P6.9 billion. Market breadth was positive, 97 to 86 while 59 issues were unchanged.

Regina Capital’s Luis Limlingan said it was a quiet session in the market yesterday because of sluggish corporate results in the US.

Active stocks were led yesterday by SM Investments Corp., which rallied by 2.10 percent to finish at P950 per share.

Meanwhile, Asian stock markets rose yesterday after Wall Street losses deepened as worries grew that the US economy could be headed for recession.

A Fed board member, Lael Brainard, and President Christine Lagarde of the European Central Bank, in separate appearances Thursday, affirmed plans to keep interest rates elevated despite market hopes central banks might scale back plans due to indications economic activity might be cooling.

“That again implies more hikes to come and then a long hiatus, not the imminent reversal markets are pricing for,” Rabobank said in a report.

The Fed and central banks in Europe and Asia raised interest rates aggressively last year to cool inflation that is multi-decade highs in some economies.

Forecasters expect a US recession this year but say it likely will be brief.

The Fed’s key lending rate is 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent, up from close to zero one year ago. Its next rate decision will be announced Feb. 1.

Investors expect an increase of 0.25 percentage points next month, smaller than previous hikes of up to 0.75 percentage points.