Local stocks and the peso rose Monday ahead of the release of October inflation and gross domestic productThe bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index climbed 88.76 points, or 1.48 percent, to close at 6,078.03, while the broader all-shares index gained 29.10 points to settle at 3,292.15.
After a tough year for traders, the bank’s decision last week to pause on monetary policy for a second meeting and hint that it would not tighten further has provided some much-needed vigor, and sparked talk of a new year cut. “Most economic indicators, aside from a notable miss in the ISM manufacturing index, did not signal a recession. Instead, the data seemed to align with a ‘just right’ scenario, akin to Goldilocks,” he added, referring to data that was neither too strong nor too weak.
“There’s a bit more reason for investors to be more optimistic that the Fed is probably done with rate hikes, but one should not let one’s guard down,” Vasu Menon, at OCBC Bank Singapore, told Bloomberg Television.