PHILIPPINE shares continued to soar on Tuesday, as the peso also strengthened after hitting the P55 level Monday.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) gained 106.59 points, closing at 6,345.41 on Tuesday.
The PSEi’s recent gains were buoyed by bargain hunting after the market’s decline last week and improved sentiment on the back of the positive performance of Wall Street over the weekend.
The local currency gained 23 centavos to close at P54.75:$1. The peso hit an intraday high past the P55 level on Monday. Its lowest showing for that day was at P55.15 against the greenback, its weakest level in over 16 years, or since the peso closed at P55.26 on Oct. 25, 2005.
Based on industry analyses, the peso continued to be impacted by concerns over the rate hikes in the United States moving forward.
Asian shares were mostly higher Tuesday after a wobbly day on Wall Street as markets cooled off following a rare winning week.
Oil prices pushed higher and US futures also advanced.
Rising energy prices and Treasury bond yields were weighing on sentiment after last week’s rally, and investors were awaiting remarks expected for midweek by central bank leaders including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde, analysts said.
Investors will get an update on US economic growth on Wednesday when the Commerce Department releases a report on first-quarter gross domestic product. US consumer confidence data is also on the agenda in a week that has few other major economic releases. So some investors have adopted a “wait and see” stance, said Jun Rong Yeap of IG.
“Investors and traders are worried about the soaring inflation situation and weak economic growth, and these two factors continue to flash red signs on their trading dashboards,” Naeem Aslam of Avatrade.com said in a commentary. “The question that traders are asking is if the bear market rally is over.” (AP)