Shares flat amid coronavirus scare
Credit to Author: Tyrone Jasper C. Piad| Date: Fri, 24 Jan 2020 16:21:58 +0000
DESPITE remaining firmly in the 7,600 territory, the stock market ended the week flat on growing worries about the spread of the novel coronavirus from Wuhan, China.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) added 0.09 percent or 7.06 points to close at 7,623.41, while the wider All Shares climbed by 0.43 percent or 19.37 points to finish at 4,523.57.
Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said the news of the virus spreading from China has affected the Philippine bourse and its regional counterparts.
“Shares closed flat with some concerns regarding the severity of the Wuhan coronavirus,” he said.
The virus has claimed at least 26 lives and the number of confirmed cases jumped to 830, according to health officials in the East Asian country. The World Health Organization, however, has stopped short of declaring a global health emergency.
Philstocks Financial Inc. said in a market note that “last-minute bargain-hunting, backed by optimism [over] the Philippines’ [latest] GDP (gross domestic product) [data] extended the local market’s gains.”
The Philippine Statistics Authority reported on Thursday that the country’s economic growth accelerated to 6.4 percent in the fourth quarter, better than the government’s 6.0-percent target for the period. This brought the full-year 2019 GDP growth figure to 5.9 percent, falling short of the government’s 6 to 6.5-percent goal range.
Wall Street was mixed. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq added 0.11 percent and 0.20 percent, respectively, while the Dow Jones fell by 0.09 percent.
In Asia, Tokyo added 0.13 percent, Hong Kong increased by 0.15 percent, Jakarta inched up by 0.03 percent, Singapore rose by 0.17 percent and Vietnam grew by 0.52 percent. Shanghai plunged by 2.75 percent and Seoul slipped by 0.93 percent.
In Manila, sectors were mixed. All sectors ended in the green, except for financials and holding firms, which dropped by 0.15 percent and 0.38 percent, respectively.
Volume turnover stood at 847.15 million shares amounting to P5.72 billion.
Advancers outmatched decliners, 106-70, while 60 issues were unchanged.
WITH A REPORT FROM AFP