Wall Street rally offers PSEi relief
Broad rally on Wall Street pushed sentiment across the region higher resulting to the local shares index closing the week in the green as the bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) continued to recoup some of its losses after several days of volatile trading.
“It looks like the heavy selling in recent days may have presented too tempting an opportunity for traders as bargain-hunting began after the panic-selling,” Regina Capital Development Corp. managing director Luis Limlingan said.
The index closed at 7,055.19 up 22.65 points or 0.32 percent on turnover of 1.3 billion shares worth P6.97 billion.
In stark contrast, European stocks lurched lower after Germany’s leaders agreed to impose tight social restrictions on people who are unvaccinated.
On the data front, initial jobless claims totaled 222,000 in the United States for the week ended 27 November, lower than economists expected.
Investors expect to see solid jobs growth last month, with consensus predicting 581,000 jobs added.
Omicron keeps world on edge Asian markets ended mixed as traders tracked developments in the Omicron virus strain as it spreads around the world, fueling concerns about the economic recovery, just as the Federal Reserve sets the stage to withdraw its vast pandemic-era financial support.
Hong Kong was among the main losers with several dual-listed tech giants taking a hit after US officials adopted a rule allowing them to remove foreign firms from Wall Street unless they provided certain information to auditors, a move primarily targeting Chinese entities.
Global markets have whipsawed since the Omicron variant hit headlines in the past days over concerns that it may be even more transmissible than the Delta strain and that vaccines may be less effective against it.
Index closed at 7,055.19 up 22.65 points or 0.32 percent on turnover of 1.3 billion shares worth P6.97 billion.