The stock market slumped Monday on profit-taking after Friday’s window-dressing to mark the end of first-quarter trading.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index tumbled 80.62 points, or 1 percent, to 7,840.31 on a value turnover of P5.5 billion. Losers overwhelmed gainers, 120 to 65, with 55 issues unchanged.
PLDT Inc., the biggest telecommunications firm, dropped 3.9 percent to P1,105, while Alliance Global Group Inc. of tycoon Andrew Tan fell 3.1 percent to P15.66.
Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co., the second-largest lender in terms of assets, lost 3.2 percent to P77.30, while BDO Unibank Inc., the biggest bank, declined 2.8 percent to P130.
The rest of Asian markets, however, rallied Monday, building on last week’s healthy gains with investors buoyed by optimism over China-US trade talks and forecast-busting Chinese factory data.
Top negotiators from China and the US flagged progress in last week’s discussions in Beijing on the tariffs row, with another round slated for this week in Washington.
While there have been few details, the general view on trading floors is that the economic superpowers are heading towards a deal that will end a long-running spat that helped sink global markets towards the end of last year.
Confidence an agreement will be reached helped overcome concerns about the world economy that saw a sharp sell-off in equities at the start of last week.
Beijing announced it would extend a delay on imposing tariffs on US cars, while also adding fentanyl to a list of controlled substances, two key concessions to Washington that have added to hopes for the trade deal.
“What matters is not whether these are big concessions or not, but that they are a quick response to the US concerns,” Gai Xinzhe at Sino Ocean Capital told Bloomberg News. “This is good for enhancing mutual trust in the negotiations.”
A positive lead from Wall Street was picked up in Asia, with Tokyo ending 1.4 percent higher, Hong Kong adding 1.8 percent and Shanghai soaring 2.6 percent.
Sydney added 0.6 percent, Singapore jumped 0.9 percent and Seoul piled on 1.3 percent, with Taipei, Mumbai, Bangkok, Jakarta and Wellington also in the green.
The rises were supported by a sharp jump in an index of Chinese manufacturing activity, which soothed concerns about the world’s number two economy and a key driver of the global economy.
The Purchasing Managers Index for March showed growth in the sector for the first time in four months and was far better than expected. On Monday a separate PMI that takes into account small businesses also jumped into expansion territory.
“The manufacturing print… will go a long way to allaying slowdown fears about China, at least in the short-term as the US-China trade talks move back to Washington this Wednesday,” said OANDA senior market analyst Jeffrey Halley.
Attention once again returns to Britain, where Prime Minister Theresa May failed on Friday to pass her Brexit deal through parliament, stoking uncertainty with just over a week before the deadline for leaving the European Union. With AFP