PSEi down for 3rd day, but still in 7,400 area
Credit to Author: Tyrone Jasper C. Piad| Date: Wed, 29 Jan 2020 16:23:40 +0000
THE stock market continued to slip for the third consecutive day on Wednesday because of souring investor sentiment as the 2019 novel coronavirus (nCoV) and the threat it posed continued to spread worldwide.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dropped by 0.09 percent or 6.39 points to end at 7,462.31 while the wider All Shares slid 0.24 percent or 10.61 points to finish at 4,425.06.
“As the number of possible infections and deaths due to the 2019 novel coronavirus mount, share prices continued its slide,” Philstocks Financial Inc. research head Justino Calaycay Jr. said.
First breaking out in Wuhan in China’s Hubei province last month, 2019-nCoV has killed at least 132 people and forced Beijing to place several cities on lockdown and restricted its citizens’ movement.
The coronavirus has now infected more people in the East Asian country than Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) did 17 years ago, fanning concerns about its impact on the world economy.
Among the worst-hit sectors on global trading floors are firms linked to travel and tourism, as big-spending Chinese tourists were forced to stay home.
The outbreak carries echoes of the SARS crisis, which paralyzed regional travel and battered local economies. Chinese tourist numbers then fell by around a third.
“Philippine shares continued to drop, though slightly today, as fatalities from the Wuhan coronavirus surged to 132 in China with over 800 new cases, bringing the total to 5,974,” Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said.
The virus did not make a dent on Wall Street, however, with the Nasdaq rising by 1.43 percent, S&P 500 by 1.01 percent and the Dow Jones by 0.66 percent.
Asian markets were mixed. Tokyo climbed by 0.71 percent, Seoul was up 0.39 percent, Thailand added 0.44 percent and Vietnam increased by 0.52 percent. Shanghai plunged by 2.75 percent, Hong Kong lost 2.83 percent, Jakarta slid by 0.05 percent and Singapore declined by 0.13 percent.
In Manila, all sectors ended in the red, except for services and property, which rose by 0.20 percent and 0.52 percent, respectively.
Volume turnover stood at 496 million shares amounting to P4.96 billion.
Decliners led advancers, 118-69, while 42 issues were unchanged.
WITH A REPORT FROM AFP