Philippine stocks yesterday fell for a fifth day, pushing the nation’s benchmark index into a bear market, amid concern over potential global headwinds and disappointing domestic economic data.
The nation’s benchmark equity gauge slid to the lowest level in more than two years as the prospect of higher US tariffs threatened by US President Donald Trump damped the optimism of global equity investors. A government report published on Thursday showed the local economy grew slower than analysts expected, hurt by sluggish investment, consumption and farm output.
“The bout of continuing weakness is likely being underpinned by the lack of a positive catalyst,” said Rastine Mackie Mercado, an analyst at Chinabank Securities Corp in Manila.
Photo: Reuters
Investors are also awaiting the release of fourth-quarter and full-year company’s earnings reports, he said.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index slipped 4 percent yesterday to 5,862.59, more than 20 percent below its October high, and the lowest closing level since October 2022. Volumes climbed during the selloff, with 138.8 million shares changing hands, the highest daily turnover in four months.
The nation’s GDP rose 5.2 percent last quarter from a year earlier, the statistics agency said on Thursday. That fell short of the 5.5 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg survey and matched the 5.2 percent pace for July to September.
Full-year growth at 5.6 percent also missed the adjusted government target of 6 percent to 6.5 percent and the 5.8 percent forecast by economists. On quarter, the expansion was slower than estimated at 1.8 percent.
Philippine Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said the government remains “optimistic” about its outlook for this year.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) would not produce its most advanced technologies in the US next year, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. Kuo made the comment during an appearance at the legislature, hours after the chipmaker announced that it would invest an additional US$100 billion to expand its manufacturing operations in the US. Asked by Taiwan People’s Party Legislator-at-large Chang Chi-kai (張啟楷) if TSMC would allow its most advanced technologies, the yet-to-be-released 2-nanometer and 1.6-nanometer processes, to go to the US in the near term, Kuo denied it. TSMC recently opened its first US factory, which produces 4-nanometer
PROTECTION: The investigation, which takes aim at exporters such as Canada, Germany and Brazil, came days after Trump unveiled tariff hikes on steel and aluminum products US President Donald Trump on Saturday ordered a probe into potential tariffs on lumber imports — a move threatening to stoke trade tensions — while also pushing for a domestic supply boost. Trump signed an executive order instructing US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick to begin an investigation “to determine the effects on the national security of imports of timber, lumber and their derivative products.” The study might result in new tariffs being imposed, which would pile on top of existing levies. The investigation takes aim at exporters like Canada, Germany and Brazil, with White House officials earlier accusing these economies of
Teleperformance SE, the largest call-center operator in the world, is rolling out an artificial intelligence (AI) system that softens English-speaking Indian workers’ accents in real time in a move the company claims would make them more understandable. The technology, called accent translation, coupled with background noise cancelation, is being deployed in call centers in India, where workers provide customer support to some of Teleperformance’s international clients. The company provides outsourced customer support and content moderation to global companies including Apple Inc, ByteDance Ltd’s (字節跳動) TikTok and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd. “When you have an Indian agent on the line, sometimes it’s hard
‘SACRED MOUNTAIN’: The chipmaker can form joint ventures abroad, except in China, but like other firms, it needs government approval for large investments Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) needs government permission for any overseas joint ventures (JVs), but there are no restrictions on making the most advanced chips overseas other than for China, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said yesterday. US media have said that TSMC, the world’s largest contract chipmaker and a major supplier to companies such as Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp, has been in talks for a stake in Intel Corp. Neither company has confirmed the talks, but US President Donald Trump has accused Taiwan of taking away the US’ semiconductor business and said he wants the industry back
RSS