WAIT-AND-SEE STANCE. Investors decide to stay at the sidelines while awaiting the release of US' August 2022 consumer price index (CPI) report, which will be out on Tuesday (Sept. 13, 2022). This resulted in the rise of the local bourse's main index and the sideways finish for the peso. (PNA graphics)
MANILA – The local stock barometer started the week up ahead of the release of United States August 2022 inflation report while the peso finished sideways against the US dollar.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) rose by 1.66 percent, or 109.75 points, to 6,715.75 points.
All Shares followed with a jump of 1.12 percent, or 39.35 points, to 3,545.82 points.
Most of the sectoral indices also gained during the day namely Holding Firms, 2.03 percent; Services, 1.86 percent; Property and Financials, both up by 1.62 percent; and Industrial, 0.36 percent.
Only the Mining and Oil index finished the day in the negative territory after it slipped by 0.04 percent.
Volume was thin at 636.9 million shares amounting to PHP4.31 billion.
Advancers led decliners at 113 to 79, while 52 shares were unchanged.
Luis Limlingan, Regina Capital Development Corporation (RCDC) head of sales, traced the local bourse’s main index’s climb to anticipation for the consumer price index (CPI) report from the US, which will be released on Tuesday.
Limlingan said the August 2022 CPI report in the US “is one of the last pieces of data on inflation the Wall St. will see ahead of the Fed’s (Federal Reserve) meeting on September.”
Last July, US inflation rate decelerated for the first time in months to 8.5 percent from the four-decade high of 9.1 percent in the previous month.
The rise of US’ rate of price increases to its highest since the early 1980s is the main reason for the hikes in the Fed’s key policy rates since last March.
“Investors had been looking for signs that the size of future rate hikes might be smaller as inflation cools off,” Limlingan said.
To date, the Federal Reserve’s funds rate has been increased by 2.25 percent to between 2.25 to 2.5 percent.
Fed officials continue to indicate additional rate increases to address the elevated inflation rate, but admitted that this will have an impact on the expansion of the world’s largest economy.
Meanwhile, the local currency finished the day sideways against the US dollar at 56.86 from 56.82 last Friday.
It opened the day stronger at 56.85 compared to its 57.05 start in the previous session.
It traded between 57.07 and 56.84, resulting in an average of 56.935.
Volume declined to USD897.2 million from USD1.15 billion at the end of last week. (PNA)
