China virus extends PSEi’s losing streak
Credit to Author: Tyrone Jasper C. Piad| Date: Tue, 28 Jan 2020 16:28:14 +0000
THE increasing number of coronavirus cases again dampened market sentiment on Tuesday, sending the stock market and its Asian counterparts to the red territory for the second straight day.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) plunged by 1.57 percent or 118.93 points to end at 7,468.70, while the wider All Shares dropped 1.33 percent or 59.67 points to finish at 4,435.67.
“Worries on the [expanding] outbreak of the coronavirus sent the local bourse, together with its regional peers, to the negative territory,” brokerage firm Philstocks Financial Inc. said in a market comment.
A global sell-off was extended as the toll from a rapidly spreading Chinese virus soared to more than 100 dead and thousands infected, with investors fretting over the impact on an already fragile world economy.
Beijing already sealed off Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, and other cities in Hubei province, effectively trapping tens of millions of people, including thousands of foreigners, in a bid to contain the virus.
The outbreak came during the Lunar New Year break, when hundreds of millions of people criss-cross China and spend huge amounts of money.
“PSEi succumb to global jitters on the coronavirus, falling below 7,500 with thin trades and P544-million net foreign selling,” 2TradeAsia said.
Wall Street was down. Nasdaq fell the steepest at 1.89 percent, while the Dow Jones and S&P 500 both slipped by 1.57 percent.
In Asia, Shanghai slipped by 2.75 percent, Tokyo was down 0.55 percent, Seoul dropped by 3.09 percent, Jakarta fell by 0.44 percent and Singapore declined by 2.04 percent. In contrast, Hong Kong inched up by 0.15 percent, Thailand added 0.48 percent and Vietnam rose by 0.52 percent.
In Manila, all sectors ended in the red, with mining and oil taking the biggest hit at 2.05 percent.
Volume turnover stood at 579.05 million shares amounting to P4.44 billion.
Decliners led advancers, 121-65, while 42 issues were unchanged.
WITH A REPORT FROM AFP