Philippines ETF Rallies on Duterte Presidential Win

Philippines markets and country-specific exchange traded fund (ETF) surged Tuesday as Rodrigo Duterte’s tried to assuage investor uncertainty, following his victory in the nation’s presidential election.

The iShares MSCI Philippines ETF (NYSEArca: EPHE) gained 4.9% Tuesday, breaking above its resistance at the 200-day simple moving average and testing its short-term, 50-day resistance. EPHE dipped 6.6% over the past month in response to the election concerns.

In the weeks before the election, investors dumped Philippine equities, expressing uncertainty over Duterte’s economic plans and lack of policy-making experience, reports Lillian Karunungan for Bloomberg.

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The Philippine presidential race weighed on investor sentiment as Duterte had been tight-lipped on what he would do to support the economy, fueling uncertainty over the economic outlook.

“A Duterte win had been flagged for some time now, and the market has already largely priced it in,” Julian Wee, a senior market strategist at National Australia Bank Ltd., told Bloomberg. “Going forward, the market will be watching what Duterte does, and the initial signs are mildly positive in that he seems to be making some overtures to the other players in the political establishment.”

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Providing more clarity on his administration, Duterte tapped Carlos Dominguez, former agriculture secretary, as finance or transport chief, and may appoint his running mate, Alan Cayetano, as foreign secretary.