The stock market declined Thursday on profit-taking, with investors playing it safe amid trade war concerns.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index lost 78.67 points, or 1 percent, to 7,759.55 on a value turnover of P4.9 billion. Losers overwhelmed gainers, 120 to 76, with 46 issues unchanged.
Speculative PXP Energy Corp., which owns an exploration contract over the disputed West Philippine Sea, slumped 4.8 percent to P13.50, while Manila Electric Co., the biggest retailer of electricity, declined 3.8 percent to P380.
JG Summit Holdings Inc. of industrialist John Gokongwei fell 2.6 percent to P55.80, but Transpacific Broadband Group International Inc., which is bidding to become the country’s third major telecommunications firm, advanced 5.6 percent to P0.57.
The rest of Asian markets sank Thursday on mounting trade war fears after the US warned it was looking at more than doubling threatened tariffs on a range of Chinese imports.
Shanghai and Hong Kong led losses after Donald Trump’s Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer confirmed earlier reports that the White House was considering hiking levies to 25 percent from the announced 10 percent on $200 billion of Chinese goods.
“We have been very clear about the specific changes China should undertake. Regrettably, instead of changing its harmful behavior, China has illegally retaliated against US workers, farmers, ranchers, and businesses,” Lighthizer said.
His statement comes after separate reports said the two sides were looking to restart talks to avert a trade war between the world’s top two economies that could hammer global growth.
Shanghai finished down two percent and Hong Kong lost more than two percent in the afternoon, while Seoul slipped 1.6 percent.
Tokyo lost one percent and Sydney eased 0.6 percent. Taipei shed 1.5 percent while Singapore was also more than one percent off.
In response to earlier reports that the US was considering the move, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang warned Wednesday that “blackmail and pressure from the US side will never work on China.”
The latest developments come as Washington considers imposing tariffs on $16 billion of goods in the coming weeks, having already targeted imports worth $34 billion last month.
Investors are left guessing about how the crisis will play out, with some worrying that with both sides digging in there could be more pain down the line, but others saying Trump is playing tough as a negotiating tactic.
“Markets are now wary of the next step in the trade war between the US and China,” Nick Twidale, chief operating officer at Rakuten Securities Australia, said in a note.
“With the US threatening to increase tariffs to 25 percent from 10 percent and the Chinese vowing not to react to ‘blackmail’ to get them back to the negotiating table, this could be the catalyst that tips sentiment and some markets into a tailspin to the downside, especially as we enter the lower liquidity holiday trading season.” With AFP
