Stocks pared their losses in early trading Monday on lack of catalysts to support a rally, while most Asian markets declined.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index slipped 7.25 points, or 0.1 percent, to 7,719.47 on a thin value turnover of P5.5 billion. Losers beat gainers, 103 to 88, with 57 issues unchanged.
BDO Unibank Inc., the largest lender in terms of assets, lost 2.3 percent to P130.90, while Megawide Construction Corp., which is finishing the expansion of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport in Cebu province, fell 3.4 percent to P23.05.
Conglomerate Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which is into toll roads, electricity and water distribution, and hospitals, declined 3.4 percent to P4.48, while GT Capital Holdings Inc. of tycoon George Ty dropped 2 percent to P1,024.
Asian markets, meanwhile, retreated with technology firms extending last week’s sharp losses, following another plunge in Apple as investors fret over the once-lucrative smartphone sector.
News Saturday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un had called a halt to nuclear tests and intercontinental missile launches—ahead of a planned summit with Donald Trump—was unable to provide enough support.
With attention now turning away from the Syria crisis and the China-US trade spat, a series of reports on Apple expressing doubts about iPhone sales has battered tech stocks across the world.
The US giant fell more than four percent Friday, the day after a near-three percent drop that was fueled by top smartphone chip supplier Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. forecasting a plunge in sales.
The drop in Apple dragged the tech-rich Nasdaq sharply down in New York, where the Dow and S&P 500 also ended in negative territory as rising US Treasury yields fan fears about a sharp rise in interest rates.
The losses filtered through to Apple’s Asian suppliers and other tech firms. AAC Technologies dived 1.9 percent in Hong Kong, TSMC shed 1.1 percent in Taipei and Alps Electric was 2.3 percent off in Tokyo, where Sharp lost 5.6 percent.
On broader markets, Japan’s Nikkei ended 0.3 percent lower, Hong Kong slipped 0.5 percent and Shanghai fell 0.1 percent. Seoul eased 0.1 percent, Wellington lost 0.2 percent and Taipei was 0.8 percent lower.
Singapore dipped 0.1 percent but Sydney added 0.3 percent.
Oil prices dipped in Asia but remain at highs not seen since the end of 2014, with support from comments by Saudi Energy Minister Khaled al-Faleh on Friday that the global market has the capacity to absorb higher prices.
Saudi Arabia and Russia said at an Opec meeting in Jeddah they would press on with a production cap deal to defend higher prices.
“Opec and Russia compliance remains high and solidly committed to reining in oversupply, which should continue to support prices,” said Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trading at OANDA.
“But involuntary supply cuts and production outages in Venezuela will also continue to support even more so after the falls in US inventories last week.”
With AFP
