The stock market tumbled Monday along with the rest of Asia, following a steep drop in Wall Street as the jubilation from last week’s enormous US stimulus package faded and investors returned their attention to the soaring infection and death rate of the coronavirus.
The Philippine Stock Exchange Index slumped 135.46 points, or 2.6 percent, to 5,131.16 on a value turnover of P5.3 billion. Losers overwhelmed gainers, 134 to 49, with 37 issues unchanged.
Puregold Price Club Inc. of retail tycoon Lucio Co. retreated 7.7 percent to P36, while Metro Pacific Investments Corp., which is into toll roads, water and electricity distribution, hospitals and infrastructure, also fell 7.7 percent to P2.40.
Bank of the Philippine Islands, the third-biggest lender in terms of assets, dropped 6 percent to P60.10, while parent Ayala Corp. declined 4.9 percent to P469.
US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, finally signed off the more than $2 trillion in pump-priming measures on Friday, but equities—which enjoyed a rally for much of the week—ended on a negative note as dealers took profits.
The downbeat mood weighed on Asian equities, though most pared their morning losses. Tokyo ended more than one percent down, while Shanghai and Hong Kong were both off 0.9 percent. Mumbai lost more than two percent, while Taipei slipped 0.7 percent.
Seoul was flat, while there were also losses in Bangkok and Jakarta.
Singapore slid more than three percent as investors brushed off the city-state’s monetary policy easing measures that came days after data showed it was heading for a deep recession.
However, Sydney soared seven percent in its best one-day performance ever following a more than five percent slide Friday.
While the disease ravages populations and the global economy grinds to a halt with 40 percent of the planet in lockdown, experts are struggling to get a grip on the scale of the crisis that is forecast to cause a worldwide recession.
And analysts say there are likely more dark days ahead, with Trump abandoning his timetable for life returning to normal in the United States and extending emergency restrictions for another month.
The president said he expected the country to “be well on our way to recovery” by June 1—dropping his previous target of mid-April.
Meanwhile, senior US scientist Anthony Fauci issued a tentative prediction that COVID-19 could claim up to 200,000 lives in the US.
Governments and central banks have acted to shore up the global economy, pledging around $5 trillion in stimulus support, with China on Monday joining the party by lowering bank borrowing costs and pumping billions of dollars into financial markets, while Singapore also eased rates.
AxiCorp.’s Stephen Innes said markets looked like they were “nearing policy fatigue where it becomes less effective, and as the surprise element diminishes, no one cares.”
“So, while policy responses in the US and Europe have been spectacular… the coronavirus keeps spreading globally, deepening fears of the economic and financial impact across countries. More market turmoil likely lies ahead.”
He also pointed out that with the corporate reporting season approaching “now we are about to enter a vortex of bad earnings, bad economic data, and bankruptcies.” With AFP