The stock market closed virtually flat Monday in nervous trading after US President Donald Trump said he did not want a partial trade deal with China.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index slipped 3.60 points, or 0.05 percent, to 7,867.51 on a value turnover of P5.8 billion. Losers overwhelmed gainers, 149 to 57, with 45 issues unchanged.
PLDT Inc., the biggest telecommunications firm, declined 3 percent to P1,112, while Megaworld Corp., the largest lessor of office spaces, fell 2.2 percent to P4.81.
GT Capital Holdings Inc. of the Ty Group lost 2.3 percent to P860, while SM Prime Holdings Inc.of the Sy Group dropped 2 percent to P35.45.
Oil prices, meanwhile, rallied Monday after Iran warned the presence of US forces in the Gulf was causing instability in the region, while equities were mixed.
Hong Kong fell 0.8 percent with China’s Fosun International losing 1.5 percent after British travel giant Thomas Cook—in which it is the top shareholder—collapsed. The 178-year-old firm went under after failing to secure £200 million ($250 million) from private investors to keep it afloat.
Shanghai shed one percent, while Singapore dropped 0.3 percent, with Taipei and Bangkok also lower, though there were gains in Seoul, Sydney, Wellington and Jakarta. Tokyo was closed for a holiday.
Mumbai rallied 3.3 percent, extending last week’s surge of more than five percent that was fueled by the government’s decision to slash corporation tax by almost a third.
While a loosening of monetary policy by central banks is providing support to investors, they remain on edge following last week’s attack on Saudi oil facilities that was claimed by Huthi rebels in Yemen but blamed by the US on Iran.
Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday hit out at a US move to increase troop numbers in Saudi Arabia, saying: “Foreign forces can cause problems and insecurity for our people and for our region.”
He called on outside powers to “stay away” and added Tehran would present a peace plan to the United Nations within days.
Investors are concerned about a possible conflict in the oil-rich Middle East after last week’s attacks—which hammered Saudi Arabia’s biggest crude plant—though both sides have said they do not want a war.
The US has ramped up sanctions on Tehran, targeting its central bank.
Both main oil contracts saw prices rise more than one percent Monday and traders are keeping tabs on Riyadh’s progress in repairing the facilities.
“You can never say never, but with an Iranian delegation apparently due to attend the UN session opening week in New York, it is hard to imagine too many fireworks in the gulf this week,” said OANDA senior markets analyst Jeffrey Halley.
Equity markets were struggling for traction with investors tracking comments from Trump saying he wanted to strike a full trade deal with Beijing, knocking hopes for a piecemeal agreement between the economic superpowers.
“I’m not looking for a partial deal. I’m looking for a complete deal,” he told reporters at the White House.
He added that he did not see the need for an agreement before the 2020 presidential election. With AFP