Index perks up as U.S. inflation slows down

The Philippine Stock Exchange index bounced back on Thursday after two straight days of declines due to positive sentiments of investors amid an expected slowdown in US December inflation data.

Shares at the local bourse yesterday gained 124.19 points, up 1.85 percent to 6,833.53 from the previous day’s close.

In a text message, Philstocks Financial Inc. researcher Mikhail Plopenio noted the “foreign direct investment net inflows into the country last

October 2022 was cheered by many as the uptick was the highest since April.”

Meanwhile, Luis Limlingan, Head of Sales at the Regina Capital, also noted that investors digested recent signals from the BSP for a “possible interest rate adjustment of up to 50bps and sustained hawkish commentaries from the Fed.”

DPI reading for December

Throughout the week, all eyes were on the US Consumer Price Index reading for December — with forecasts all pointing to a slight easing in price pressures. Citing Dow Jones, Limlingan said economists expect the December CPI data to ease by 0.1 percent and rise 6.5 percent year-on-year against. It is slightly better than 0.1 percent monthly gain in November and an annual pace of 7.1 percent.

The bourse’s rally was led by SM Prime Holdings Inc. as the top gainer after its shares climbed by 4.55 percent, which somehow pulled the market up.

On the other hand, the net market value turnover remained strong as it stood at P6.86 billion — much higher than this month’s average of P5.85 billion. Foreigners were net buyers with net inflows hitting P182.46 million.