By Denise A. Valdez, Reporter

LOCAL SHARES ended lower on Tuesday as fear over rising cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients continued to affect investor sentiment.

The 30-member Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell 49.65 points or 0.78% to 6,297.78 on Tuesday. The broader all shares index shed 21.18 points or 0.57% to 3,685.72.

“The PSEi closed lower as investors weighed optimism over a quick recovery for the domestic economy, or V-shaped rebound, against evidence of an acceleration of COVID-19 infections in half of all US states and elsewhere in the world,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a mobile message.

COVID-19 cases continued to rise in different parts of the world, with South Korea officially declaring a second wave of infections on Monday, news wires reported.

Several US states and Beijing have also seen an increase in new COVID-19 cases over the weekend.

Data from Johns Hopkins University’s Coronavirus Resource Center showed there are over 9.1 million COVID-19 cases across the globe as of Tuesday, with US and Brazil leading the charts having 2.3 million and 1.1 million cases each, respectively.

Timson Securities, Inc. trader Darren T. Pangan said these developments led to a more cautious stance by investors, resulting in selling off on Tuesday. Uncertainty over the trade relations between the US and China also pushed investors to watch their risk exposures.

“Second and third liner issues joined the list of most active stocks today, as market participants continue to speculate on which businesses will be the least affected by the ongoing pandemic situation,” Mr. Pangan said in a text message.

Most active stocks on Tuesday in terms of value turnover were MerryMart Consumer Corp. (+3.06%), DITO CME Holdings Corp. (-0.54%) and Emperador, Inc. (+0.13%).

Despite the PSEi drop, Mr. Pangan said the market seems to have formed a base above the 6,150-6,200 level. He puts this area as support level and resistance at 6,600.

Four of six sectoral indices ended Tuesday’s session in red territory. Property lost 45.62 points or 1.43% to 3,140.28; holding firms slid 75.36 points or 1.14% to 6,497.40; industrials trimmed 65.67 points or 0.83% to 7,763.45; and services dipped 3.05 points or 0.21% to 1,398.63. Gainers were mining and oil, which rose 102.44 points or 2.03% to 5,134.31; and financials, which improved 13.99 points or 1.11% to 1,270.88.

Some 1.31 billion issues valued at P7.31 billion switched hands on Tuesday, slightly higher than Monday’s 1.21 billion issues valued at P7.33 billion.

Advancers bested decliners, 103 against 98, while 45 names ended unchanged.

Offshore investors remained sellers, with net outflows increasing to P1.15 billion from P1 billion the previous day.

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR