The stock market fell slightly at the close of trading Monday after last-minute buying capped losses in early trading ahead of the monetary policy meeting Thursday of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index lost 2.61 points, or 0.03 percent, to 8,235.54 on a value turnover of P8.5 billion. Losers overwhelmed gainers, 168 to 62, with 37 issue unchanged.
Speculative issue Now Corp., which is bidding to become the country’s third major telecommunications company, sank 22.3 percent to P9.87, while MRC Allied Inc. tumbled 17.6 percent to P0.56.
Semirara Mining and Power Corp., the biggest coal miner, slumped 6.7 percent to P30.15, while casino operator Bloomberry Resorts Corp. dropped 3.6 percent to P14.32.
Tokyo, meanwhile, sank on Monday as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s political future hangs in the balance over a cronyism scandal, while Asian traders moved cautiously before a crucial US Federal Reserve meeting.
Among other markets Shanghai ended up 0.3 percent. Earlier, it emerged that reformer and US-educated Yi Gang was the only nominee to take over as governor of the People’s Bank of China.
Yi recently said the central bank would work to push through reforms that will bring about “equal treatment for domestic and foreign investors.”
Hong Kong was up 0.2 percent in the afternoon. But CK Hutchison Holdings was down 1.5 percent after the city’s richest person and investment “Superman” Li Ka-shing announced Friday he would step down as chairman.
CK Asset Holdings fell 0.4 percent.
Elsewhere Sydney added 0.2 percent, but Singapore fell 0.1 percent and Seoul dropped 0.8 percent. There were also losses in Bangkok, Jakarta and Wellington.
After fluctuating last week on worries about a possible global trade war and Donald Trump’s removal of moderate voices in his cabinet, regional equities are struggling to maintain a run of gains.
Investors are also keeping an eye on Washington after another outburst by Trump against a probe by special counsel Robert Mueller into claims of Russian meddling and collusion with the tycoon’s campaign in the 2016 presidential election.
There are fears in some quarters that Trump is planning to fire Mueller. Greg McKenna, chief market strategist at AxiTrader warned that if he did, then “all heck could break loose on markets.”
In Japan, the Nikkei finished 0.9 percent lower as Abe and Finance Minister Taro Aso are embroiled a scandal over the cut-price sale of government land to a supporter of the prime minister to open an elementary school.
The finance ministry has admitted altering documents related to the deal.
A weekend poll by the Asahi Shimbun daily found public support nosediving 13 percentage points from a month ago to 31 percent, the lowest since Abe took power in December 2012.
Abe denies any wrongdoing.
The key event this week is the Fed’s next policy meeting, which will be the first for new boss Jerome Powell. The bank is expected to raise interest rates again but Powell’s remarks will be closely followed for clues about future increases, with some predicting another three this year in light of an improving economy. With AFP