Philippine stocks and the peso tumbled Monday amid fears of prolonged Israel-Palestine conflict.
The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index lost 7.79 points, or 0.12 percent, to close a 6,252.16, while the broader all-shares inched up by 0.78 points, or 0.02 percent, to 3,380.05.
“The index slipped and value turnover fell as investors reacted to the armed conflict between Israel and Hamas that threatens to destabilize the Middle East,” China Bank Corp managing director Juan Paolo Colet said.
Colet said investors opted to stay on the sidelines as they adopted a wait-and-see stance while the situation unfolds.
The peso also fell to 56.95 against the US dollar Monday from 56.62 Friday.
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. said the new geopolitical risk emerging in the Middle East would weigh on Asian currencies this week.
“If oil prices surge, PHP [Philippine peso], THB [Thai baht], and INR [Indonesian rupiah] would fall as the countries are oil importers, but the authorities already indicated that they would intervene in the FX [foreign exchange] market if needed. JPY [Japanese yen] is also in focus as Japan is also an oil importer, and USD/JPY may test the 150 mark again this week,” the Japanese bank said.