Philippine stocks fall amid headwinds

MANILA, Philippines — Local stocks opened the week lower as global headwinds continued to exert pressure on the market.

The Philippine Stock Exchange index closed at 6,591.47, down by 33.79 points or 0.51 percent.

The broader All Shares index, meanwhile, slipped to 3,516.67, down by 10.25 points or 0.29 percent.

The sectoral gauges were also mostly down except for services and financials.

Total value turnover reached P20 billion and market breadth was negative, 84 to 83 while 64 issues were unchanged.

Juan Paolo Colet, managing director at China Bank Capital, said market-on-close selling pushed the index below 6,600 due to month-end portfolio adjustments of institutional investors and still lingering selling pressures.

Shares were mixed in Europe after most Asian markets logged gains yesterday on hopes for more stimulus from Beijing for the sluggish Chinese economy.

Worries over China’s slowdown have tempered optimism recently over the possibility that inflation is cooling enough to get the Federal Reserve to stop hiking interest rates.

Adding to pressure on the ruling Communist Party to reverse an economic slowdown, Chinese factory activity contracted in July as export orders shrank, a survey showed.

A purchasing managers’ index issued by the national statistics agency and an industry group improved to 49.3 from June’s 49 on a 100-point scale but was below the 50-point level that shows activity contracting.

If inflation is cooling enough to get the Federal Reserve to stop hiking interest rates, that might allow the economy to continue growing and avoid a long-predicted recession.

Though critics say the stock market’s rally may have gone too far, too fast, hopes for a halt to rate hikes helped technology stocks and others seen as big beneficiaries from easier rates to rally.

A report on Friday showed the inflation measure the Fed prefers to use slowed last month by a touch more than expected.

Data also showed total compensation for workers rose less than expected during the spring. While that’s discouraging for workers, investors see it adding less upward pressure on inflation.