The stock market fell Monday, joining the rest of Asia on lingering concerns about rising prices and the weak peso.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index dropped 78.26 points, or 1.1 percent, to 6,926.51 on a value turnover of P4.4 billion. Gainers, however, beat losers, 106 to 84, with 41 issues unchanged.
Jollibee Foods Corp., the biggest fast-food chain, tumbled 4.6 percent, to P250, while Globe Telecom Inc., the second-largest telecommunications firm, dropped 4.3 percent to P2,010.
Robinsons Retail Holdings Inc. of industrialist John Gokongwei declined 3.8 percent to P77, while SM Investments Corp. of retail tycoon Henry Sy Sr. fell 2.5 percent to P850.
The rest of Asian stocks opened the week on the back foot Monday, with investors still in a gloomy mood after several days of market turbulence sparked by trade rows and a spat over the US central bank.
Japanese equities led the way lower, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 shedding almost two percent, not helped by reports that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe would later Monday announce a hike in sales tax.
“We have never seen a share price rise in the past after an announcement of a sales tax hike,” noted Kyoko Amemiya, senior market strategist at SBI Securities.
Japanese stocks also came under pressure after US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said over the weekend the US wants to include a provision to prevent currency manipulation in future trade deals with Japan.
Chinese stocks, which were the worst hit in last week’s global rout, also tracked lower, with the benchmark Shanghai composite off nearly one percent.
Markets in Hong Kong, Australia and South Korea also drifted lower, with the Hang Seng giving up more than one percent.
“We can’t say the shock is over,” said Masayuki Kubota, chief strategist at Rakuten Securities.
Last week saw a broad-based sell-off in global equities, prompted by fears of higher US interest rates, continued worries over US-China trade and attacks by President Donald Trump on the Federal Reserve, which he called “crazy.”
On Friday, the bulls attempted a fight-back but found it hard going in another seesaw session. Early European gains fizzled and the Dow Jones closed up 1.2 percent following late buying but it also dipped into the red for part of the session.
This week, traders are expected to focus on a raft of economic data and dozens of company results.
Turning to commodities, oil prices continued to soar as traders fretted over US relations with its ally and the world’s top oil producer Saudi Arabia.
Trump has warned of “severe punishment” if it is revealed that journalist Jamal Khashoggi was murdered inside the Kingdom’s consulate in Istanbul but Riyadh hit back immediately, saying it would retaliate.
Geopolitical tensions surrounding Saudi Arabia battered shares in Japanese conglomerate Softbank, which has close financial ties to the Kingdom.
Softbank stock plunged more than seven percent in Tokyo, as Riyadh is heavily involved in the firm’s massive technology investment fund. With AFP