The main index suffered another sell-off on Tuesday, April 17, weighed down by lingering concerns on the tensions surrounding the United States and Russia.
The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) plunged 1.87% or 146.86 points to close at 7,723.39 on Tuesday. The broader all-shares index likewise lost 1.58% or 75.32 points to 4,695.96.
“Philippine markets were sold down due to the tensions developing between Russia, US, and Syria. Traders weighed on weekend strikes in Syria and potential for additional US sanctions against Russia,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Managing Director Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile phone message.
Summit Securities, Inc. Harry G. Liu meanwhile said that fund managers are currently digesting the effects of these geopolitical tensions to global markets, noting that the implications of the trade war between the US and China will be more cause for concern once the ongoing rift between US and Russia settle down.
“I presume that world leaders and fund managers will digest what will happen to the trade war, where will the balance come in. Everybody’s still trying to figure out what the effects will be,” Mr. Liu said in a phone interview yesterday.
The bloodbath trickle down to all sectoral counters, with the financial sector dropping 2.27% or 45.82 points to 1,975.27. The mining and oil sector shed 2.09% or 231.35 points to 10,864.71; holding firms gave up 1.79% or 140.41 points to 7,726.81; services fell 1.76% or 28.54 points to 1,589.34; industrial went down 1.39% or 155.88 points to 11,052.50; while property declined 1.32% or 47.58 points to 3,567.38.
Declining stocks prevailed for the day at 161 issues, versus 57 that gained and 34 that remained unmoved.
Value turnover started to pick up, ending at P7.03 billion against Monday’s P4.77 billion, after some 1.23 billion issues switched hands. — Arra B. Francia

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