Index slips as inflation falls within expectations

MANILA, Philippines — Local stocks corrected marginally yesterday after two straight days of gains as traders factored in the expected lower inflation print in June.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) closed lower to 6,512.39, down by 2.08 points or 0.03 percent, while the broader All Shares index slipped to 3,469.75, down by 2.78 points or 0.08 percent.

Headline inflation eased to a one-year low of 5.4 percent last month and is still expected to ease further in the coming months.

Total value turnover reached P3.820 billion. Market breadth was negative, 97 to 69, while 61 issues were unchanged.

Metro Pacific Investments Corp. (MPIC) topped the roster of active stocks, rallying by 3.97 percent after its shareholders announced a higher tender offer price of P5.20 per share from P4.63 per share, heeding the market’s clamor for a better price.

MPIC shares rose by 3.97 percent to end at P4.98 per share.

Meanwhile, Asian shares fell as fresh signs of China’s faltering economic recovery emerged, with traders awaiting US Federal Reserve minutes and a key US jobs report later in the week for clues to the central bank’s rate outlook.

US markets were closed Tuesday for a holiday.

The Chinese services sector, which has rebounded strongly since the lifting of COVID-19 lockdowns, expanded at the softest pace in five months in June, a survey showed, adding to signs of a soft recovery in the world’s second-biggest economy.

The release of the minutes of the Fed’s last policy meeting, due later on Wednesday, and the non-farm payrolls report on Friday are top of traders’ agenda this week as they watch to see whether the Fed will need to hike more than once to stem inflation.

“Focus is very much on whether is inflation peaking; has it peaked; how many more rate hikes are coming down the hike?” said Michael Hewson, chief market analyst at CMC Markets.

Markets are almost certain that the Fed will hike in July after pausing last month, but have only priced in a 32 percent chance that it would need to deliver another hike by October.

The US jobs data is also key, traders say.