Philippine stocks in best run since 1998 are Asia’s highlight

PHILIPPINES stocks climbed the most in Asia, rounding their best seven-day rally in more than two decades, on optimism the economic fallout from the coronavirus outbreak won’t be as bad as feared after the central-bank governor said monetary-easing steps were appropriate.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index climbed as much as 4.4% on Thursday, taking its seven-day rebound to almost 19%. The peso advanced to 50 against the U.S. dollar for the first time since January 2018 as central-bank governor Benjamin Diokno signaled a pause in interest-rate cuts.