Local shares extended their losses Friday ahead of the release of the April inflation rate next week.
Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan also cited worries over the higher April inflation rate as the biggest the factor that contributed to the weakness in the market.Limlingan said share prices went down as investors capitalized on gains amid mounting concerns over higher April inflation rate due to continued increase in food prices.
Meanwhile, Hong Kong led gains across most Asian and European markets Friday thanks to a surge in tech giants, while the yen extended gains against the dollar on revived hopes for US interest rate cuts. Comments from Fed boss Jerome Powell on Wednesday appeared to breathe a little life into the rate-cut narrative when he said that, while he expected borrowing costs to stay high for longer, officials were unlikely to announce another hike.
National Australia Bank’s Tapas Strickland added: “The Fed will need an accumulation of evidence that inflation is easing sufficiently before they contemplate cutting rates.”