Stocks fall for 3rd  straight day; Ayala, Globe decline

Share prices fell for the third straight day Wednesday as many investors started repositioning their stock market portfolio ahead of the New Year.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index slipped 47.87 points, or 0.7 percent, to 7,119.19 on a value turnover of P6 billion. Gainers, however, edged losers, 86 to 83, with 69 issues unchanged.

Conglomerate Ayala Corp. declined 3.2 percent to P853, while SM Investments Corp. of the Sy Group dropped 2.9 percent to P943.

Globe Telecom Inc., the second-biggest telecommunications firm, decreased 1.6 percent to P3,360, but Jollibee Foods Corp, the largest fast-food chain, advanced 4.9 percent to P219.

Most Asian markets, meanwhile, rose Wednesday, extending a global rally after their latest sell-off as investors assess the impact of the fast-spreading Omicron variant.

The year-and-a-half-long rally across markets has petered out in recent weeks on fears about the new COVID variant and government measures to contain it, which come just as central banks begin to remove the vast financial support put in place at the start of the pandemic.

Traders are also keeping an eye on developments in Washington after Joe Biden said he was optimistic he could win the key vote of Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, who threw the president’s economic agenda into doubt after he said Sunday he would reject the present proposal.

After being skittled on Monday, Asian markets bounced Tuesday thanks to a healthy dose of bargain-buying, and the positive energy filtered through to Wall Street and Europe.

The buying was also helped by expectations that the US Food and Drug Administration will authorize pills from Pfizer and Merck & Co. to treat COVID-19 as soon as this week, providing fresh tools to battle the disease.

However, analysts warned that with trade thinning heading into the festive break, volatility would stay high until the new year, and Asia saw equities fluctuate through the morning.

Tokyo, Hong Kong, Sydney, Seoul, Taipei, Wellington, Mumbai, Bangkok and Jakarta rose but Shanghai and Singapore slipped.

Oil inched up to extend Tuesday’s strong gains as the festive mood lifts hope for an improvement in demand, while a closely watched report suggested US stockpiles fell again last week.

Omicron remains the main focus of concern for investors as some countries reimpose tough measures—the Netherlands is in a Christmas lockdown—raising questions about the recovery, while inflation continues to harry trading floors. With AFP

But observers remain generally upbeat that economies will still return to a semblance of normal as vaccines kick in.

Nicole Webb, of Wealth Enhancement Group, was optimistic the reopening will pick up again in time.

“While this variant is significant and the impact is powerful, I do still have my rose-colored glasses heading into the New Year because below the surface there is still a lot of opportunity” away from trades that are played out or frothy, she told Bloomberg TV.