US-China trade fears drag PSEi back to 7,800
Credit to Author: ANGELICA BALLESTEROS, TMT| Date: Mon, 06 May 2019 16:15:29 +0000
SHARE prices fell back to the 7,800 territory on Monday, joining a regional decline, as renewed fears over the US-China trade talks sparked selloffs among investors.
The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) dropped by 1.33 percent or 105.68 points to close at 7,862.30. The broader All Shares, meanwhile, declined by 0.94 percent or 46.20 points to finish at 4,859.86.
“The trade talk at risk of a collapse and the heightening of geopolitical risk headlined today’s (Monday) market selloff,” Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said.
On Sunday, US President Donald Trump threatened to more than double tariffs on $200-billion worth Chinese goods and introduce a new round of duties after reports that Chinese negotiators were reluctant to seal an agreement with Washington.
Chinese representatives were scheduled to head to Washington this week for what could be the final round of talks, but reports said officials had considered cancelling talks following Trump’s threat.
AAA Southeast Equities Inc. President Matthew Cabangon echoed Limlingan’s view, saying market players were discouraged from buying after the PSEi failed to hold above the 8,000 level for the third time.
The local market mirrored a regional downturn, as Shanghai plunged 5.58 percent, Hong Kong fell 3.31 percent, Jakarta declined 1.15 percent, Singapore decreased 3.14 percent, and Bangkok dipped 0.01 percent.
All sectoral results finished in the red, with the financials index down the most by 2.19 percent.
More than 719 million issues were traded valued at P6.2 billion.
Losers led winners, 146 to 56, while 35 issues were unchanged.
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