Philippine stocks plunged more than 1 percent Monday on concerns the implementation of so-called reciprocal tariff rate by the United States on April 2 will slow down global economic growth.
The 30-company Philippine Stock Exchange index dropped 74.73 points, or 1.19 percent, to close at 6,192.02. The broader all-shares index also went down by 0.96 percent to 3,691.31.
“The local market extended its drop as investors worried over the US government’s planned reciprocal tariffs on April 2 and its consequences on the global economy,” Philstocks Financial Inc. research head Japhet Tantiangco.
Value turnover was thin at P3.91 billion, below the year-to-date average of P5.40 billion. Losers edged gainers, 123 to 61.
Foreigners were net sellers, with net outflows of P240.83 million contributing to the decline.
All sectors were in the red, with services declining the most by 2.32 percent.
Emperador Inc. was the day’s top index gainer, climbing 3.67 percent to P12.44, while JG Summit Holdings Inc. was the day’s worst performer, plunging 4.57 perch to P16.72.
Asian equity markets were mixed Monday as worries about fresh US tariffs pencilled in for next week were tempered by a report that Donald Trump was considering a more targeted approach.
Investor sentiment has been jolted in recent weeks by fears that the president’s hardball policies could deal a painful blow to the global economy.
He has caused ructions on trading floors since resuming power in January by hitting out at long-standing allies and imposing or threatening swinging tariffs on imports of an array of goods, including steel and cars.
Next Wednesday is now the focus of attention, with Trump labelling it “Liberation Day” as he prepares to unveil a raft of reciprocal measures to counter those in other countries.
“Anticipation and pre-positioning ahead of Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ on 2 April and the impending deluge of tariff-related announcements that will follow in the days/weeks after will be a growing factor that drives price action, sentiment and liquidity in markets this week,” said Chris Weston at Pepperstone.
“As the sky begins to bruise and darken, and the atmospheric pressure builds within the capital markets, market players question if it’s time to batten down the hatches in preparation for a storm of uncertainty set to be unleashed on markets.”
The Federal Reserve last week warned that “uncertainty around the economic outlook has increased” while the central banks of Japan and Britain also warned about the impact of the White House’s policies.
Chinese Premier Li Qiang said at the weekend that Beijing was readying for “shocks that exceed expectations” ahead of the latest measures, adding that “instability and uncertainty are on the upswing”.
His comments came as he met heads of some of the world’s biggest companies, including Apple, Qualcomm, FedEx and Pfizer.
And Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers told Bloomberg News the moves by Trump “are not surprising, but they are seismic”.
However, there was some hope among investors after Bloomberg News reported that the US administration was considering a more targeted approach to the tariffs, with some countries being hit harder than others, and the measures not being as severe as initially feared.
That came after the president told reporters Friday that “there’ll be flexibility” in his plans.
Asian markets fluctuated through the day, with Tokyo falling along with Seoul, Taipei, Manila and Bangkok.
Jakarta dived more than four percent at one point, extending a recent sell-off fueled by worries about Southeast Asia’s biggest economy that has seen the country’s main index lose around 15 percent since the turn of the year.
Hong Kong rose 0.9 percent after two days of losses, while Shanghai, Sydney, Singapore, Mumbai and Wellington also edged up.
London, Paris and Frankfurt opened on the front foot.
Gold held around $3,025, having hit a series of records last week to a peak of more than $3,057 owing to a surge in demand for safe havens. With AFP