PSEi slips on Trump impeachment
Credit to Author: Tyrone Jasper C. Piad| Date: Thu, 19 Dec 2019 16:51:42 +0000
THE stock market plunged into the red territory on Thursday on negative market sentiment fueled by the impeachment of US President Donald Trump.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell by 1.03 percent or 79.73 points to finish at 7,653.94, while the wider All Shares dipped by 0.64 percent or 29.14 points to end at 4,558.85.
“Philippine stocks fell significantly, with many keeping an eye on the impeachment of” Trump, Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said.
In a historic vote at the US House of Representatives on Wednesday (Thursday in Manila), the businessman-turned-politician was impeached for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, making him the third American leader in history to earn that dishonor.
Democrats, who dominated the House, said they had no choice but to formally charge the 73-year-old Republican, whose impeachment along stark party lines places an indelible stain on his record while driving a spike ever deeper into the US political divide.
Trump will now stand trial in the US Senate, where his fellow Republicans hold a solid majority and are expected to exonerate him.
The House vote came four months after a whistleblower blew open the scandal of Trump pressuring Ukraine’s president to investigate his potential White House challenger in 2020, former US vice president Joe Biden.
The bourse also fell, along with some of its Asian peers, as dealers begin to wind down ahead of the Christmas break and as the rally fueled by the US-China trade pact loses steam.
With few catalysts to drive business, investors were taking it easy after a rollercoaster year that has seen equities swing back and forth mostly by trade rows between Washington and Beijing, as well as other major allies.
Brokerage firm 2TradeAsia agreed with Limlingan, noting that net foreign selling reached P2 billion.
Wall Street ended mixed. The Dow Jones and S&P 500 dropped by 0.10 percent and 0.04 percent, respectively, while Nasdaq inched up by 0.05 percent.
Asian markets mirrored Wall Street, with Tokyo falling by 0.29 percent, Hong Kong declining by 0.36 percent, Jakarta shedding 0.50 percent and Singapore losing 0.08 percent. Meanwhile, Seoul added 0.08 percent, Thailand gained 0.15 percent and Vietnam rose by 0.26 percent. Shanghai was flat.
In Manila, sectors ended in the red, with holding firms taking the biggest hit at 1.20 percent.
Volume turnover stood at 591.70 million for P12.6 billion.
Losers led winners, 102-67, while 63 issues were unchanged.
WITH A REPORT FROM AFP