Escalated strife stokes nuke fears
Philippine Stock Exchange index closed yesterday at 7,288.07 down 53.94 points or 0.73 percent
Market index weakened as the Russia-Ukraine conflict sparked fears of a nuclear conflict. The news of Russia’s invasion overshadowed positive US employment data for February that was released Friday morning.
Philippine Stock Exchange index closed yesterday at 7,288.07 down 53.94 points or 0.73 percent.
Aside from monitoring the Ukraine-Russia development, investors are also waiting for several economic data reports to be released throughout the week, including February consumer price index and Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey in the United States, Regina Capital Development Corp. managing director Luis Limlingan said.
Traders are also awaiting the January trade balance which is expected to be published within the week.
Investors may look at the string of earnings reports that will be released in the coming days to give direction to how the market could potentially move. Globally, anxiety remains high given the geopolitical tensions between
Russia and Ukraine.
“Local sentiment continued to improve as Metro Manila further eased Covid-19 restrictions to Alert Level 1. However, the market remained reactive to the developments in the Russia-Ukraine crisis and its impact on commodity prices,” COL Financial said in a report.
Government bond rates could face upward pressure in anticipation of the US Federal Reserve’s plan to start raising interest rates.
US inflation report for February is set to be released on 10 March, potentially giving an indication of the magnitude of the interest rate hike.
For the year so far, bond
funds have returned a negative 0.29 percent on average while money market funds have gained 0.21 percent.
Oil prices rocket
US crude oil jumped to $125 per barrel (/bl), a whopping 13-year high, as the market continued to react to supply disruptions stemming from
Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine and the possibility of a ban on Russian oil and natural gas.
US West Texas Intermediate crude futures traded eight percent higher to above $125/bl, highest since mid 2008. At one point, the price topped $130/bl. Brent crude traded 9 percent higher to $128.60/bl.