Stocks retreated Friday, ending a three-day rally and preventing the benchmark index from setting a new record, following overnight losses on Wall Street and on concern central banks around the world are drawing back from injecting stimulus.
The Philippine Stock Exchange index, the 30-company benchmark, fell 76 points, or 1 percent, to close at 8,025.35. Despite Friday’s loss, it was still up 15.4 percent since the start of the year.
The broader all-share index also dropped 34 points, or 0.7 percent, to settle at 4,794.03, on a value turnover of P7.8 billion. Advancers outnumbered losers, 113 to 95, while 43 issues were unchanged.
Eight of the 20 most active stocks ended in the green, led by Alterra Capital Partners Inc. which jumped 5.4 percent to P5.27 and Cemex Holdings Philippines Inc. which climbed 2.1 percent to P11.94.
Meanwhile, Asian markets fell Friday, with traders left disappointed by comments from central banks in Japan and Europe that caused them to roll back their stimulus hopes.
Trading floors worldwide have been humming with excitement for the past few weeks, racking up trillions of dollars in gains, as leaders promised measures to kickstart economies in the wake of Britain’s shock EU exit vote.
The upbeat outlook, strong US data and expectations Japan would unveil a huge stimulus—reportedly worth 20 trillion yen—also sent the yen tumbling against the dollar.
However, the Japanese unit soared Thursday after the BBC aired a month-old interview with Bank of Japan governor Haruhiko Kuroda in which he said “no need and no possibility” for so-called helicopter money to be part of any package.
The strategy of helicopter money sees the bank funnel cash directly into the economy, such as putting cash straight into people’s bank accounts, rather than the more traditional bond-buying method.
Losses were recorded in Asia, with Tokyo down 1.1 percent by the close, while Hong Kong lost 0.3 percent in late trade and Shanghai ended down 0.9 percent.
Sydney eased 0.3 percent, Singapore was down 0.4 percent and Seoul was 0.1 percent lower. There were also losses in Taipei and Jakarta.
“The concern about global central banks withdrawing from providing further stimulus definitely affects markets across the board, from the US to emerging markets,” Ang Kok Heng, chief investment officer at Phillip Capital Management in Kuala Lumpur, told Bloomberg News. With AFP, Bloomberg