The stock market rebounded Friday on last-minute bargain hunting, erasing early losses of more than 10 percent that again triggered the circuit breaker.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index rose 57.67 points, or 1 percent, to 5,793.94 on a value turnover of P10.7 billion.
The index plunged 10.4 percent in the first minutes of trading to 5,138.04, triggering another 15-minute circuit breaker to give investors time to calm down. Losers, however, beat gainers, 139 to 87, with 36 issues unchanged.
Analysts said investors reacted negatively on the month-long community lockdown of Metro Manila announced by Malacañang Thursday evening.
Philstocks Financial Inc. said the market was boosted by reports that Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III instructed the government pension funds to increase their equities holdings to help bolster the local stock market.
“Panic sellers turned into bargain hunters after (big losses) triggered circuit breakers early in the session that temporarily halted trading for the second time this week,” Luis Limlingan, managing director of Regina Capital Development Corp., said.
“US Futures also began trading higher as indices have been vastly oversold this week,” he added.
But the rest of Asian equities tumbled, extending a global rout that saw markets experience their worst day in decades as fears of a worldwide recession caused by the coronavirus pandemic wiped trillions off valuations.
BDO Unibank Inc., the biggest lender in terms of assets, advanced 5.8 percent to P127, while parent SM Investments Corp. climbed 5.2 percent to P831.50.
International Container Terminal Services Inc., the largest port operator, rose 6.2 percent to P85, while Globe Telecom Inc., the second-biggest telecommunications firm, climbed 5.2 percent to P1,830.
Shellshocked investors in the rest of Asia, meanwhile, fled for the hills as governments across Europe and in the United States struggled to get a grip on the crisis that has swept the planet and shut communities down.
However, after a morning session wipeout across the region, most markets clawed back losses, even if they were still in negative territory as traders picked up bargain-basement stocks.
Tokyo, which fell as much as 10 percent at one point, ended down 6.1 percent, while Hong Kong was 1.6 percent lower in the afternoon having plunged around seven percent earlier.
Seoul, Bangkok and Singapore all managed to cut their losses by more than half, while Mumbai was up more than two percent just hours after a trading halt kicked in because it had fallen more than nine percent.
Shanghai ended down 1.2 percent.
Central bank moves to support financial markets have failed to staunch the bloodletting, while Donald Trump’s decision to shut the US border to European travelers added to the panic.
“Markets remain in a freefall as uncertainty persists with no reliable anchor which can create near-term stability,” Ben Emons, at Medley Global Advisors in New York, said.
“Despite continued uncertainty over the coronavirus spread, some market players with more optimistic outlooks will see current levels as good buying opportunities for medium and long term plays,” Nick Twidale, at IC Markets in Sydney. With AFP