Stocks slide on election results, Wall St. volatility

SHARES slid on Tuesday on the results of the national elections and Wall Street volatility.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dropped by 38.97 points or 0.57% to close at 6,720.93 on Tuesday, while the broader all shares index shed 37.08 points or 1.02% to 3,584.82.
“The local bourse declined amid mixed factors both from local and overseas, right after the elections at home. Here at home, investors are dealing with election-related uncertainties…towards the reception of the general public of the result, transition of power, and economic policies of the next administration…,” Philstocks Financial Research Associate Claire T. Alviar said in a Viber message.
“Philippine shares slid, although at a smaller drop compared to the rest of the region, as investors became concerned about the possibility of stagflation,” Regina Capital Development Corp. Head of Sales Luis A. Limlingan said in a Viber message, adding that the results of the elections will continue to take center stage.
Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. Chief Economist Michael L. Ricafort said in an e-mail that investors are closely monitoring if the elections are “clean, honest, credible and peaceful, as an important first step or part of democracy.”
Mr. Ricafort said that investors will be evaluating the incoming administration’s platforms and economic policies in their first months in office.
Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos, Jr.’s runaway victory in Monday’s election looked certain when early results of an unofficial vote poured in and with 95% of the eligible ballots counted, he had more than 30 million votes, double that Vice-President Maria Leonor G. Robredo, Reuters reported.
An official result is expected around the end of the month.
“The recent increased volatility in the global financial markets due to more aggressive Federal Reserve rate hikes and monetary tightening that could lead to economic slowdown and some potential risk of recession,” Mr. Ricafort added.
The majority of sectoral indices ended in the red on Tuesday except for holding firms, which climbed by 27.10 points or 0.43% to 6,298.76.
Meanwhile, mining and oil declined by 889.98 points or 7.66% to 10,717.44; property went down by 71.75 points or 2.33% to 3,001.07; services lost 38.35 points or 2% to 1,878.56; industrials gave up 38.25 points or 0.41% to 9,297.84; and financials dropped by 0.37 point or 0.02% to 1,611.94.
The MidCap index retreated by 44.63 points or 4% to 1,071.48 and the Dividend Yield index sank by 30.93 points or 1.92% to 1,584.01.
Value turnover surged to P23.19 billion with 3.17 million shares changing hands from the P5.95 billion with 653.64 million issues seen on Friday.
Decliners outnumbered advancers, 169 versus 52, while 34 names ended unchanged.
Net foreign selling grew to P1.08 billion from P851.71 million seen on Friday. — Luisa Maria Jacinta C. Jocson with Reuters