PH shares dive below 7,700 on breakdown of US-China trade talks

The local stock barometer slid below the 7,700 mark on Tuesday as the breakdown of US-China trade talks spooked global markets.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) shed 95.54 points or 1.23 percent to close at 7,646.66, in line with the bloodbath across financial markets.

“After months of generally positive news and hopes for an amicable settlement, negotiations between the United States and China broke down, resulting in fresh tariffs from both sides. With renewed fears of a prolonged and worsening trade spat, emerging markets moved into retreat mode to get away from the heavyweight scuffle,” ING economist Nicholas Mapa said.

“This week will likely be all about the ongoing trade spat, with investors keen to see if the recent tariff slinging will result in better negotiations,” he said.

The local market was battered by about P1.46 billion in net foreign selling.

The day’s decline was led by the financial counter, which lost 3.05 percent, followed by holding firms, which dropped by 2.31 percent. The industrial and services counters also slipped.

On the other hand, the mining/oil counter gained 1.19 percent, while the property counter rose by 0.94 percent.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P11.95 billion.

There were 140 decliners that edged out 57 advancers, while 37 stocks were unchanged.

The PSEi was weighed down most by BDO, BPI, Bloomberry and GT Capital, which all declined by over 4 percent.

GT Capital’s first quarter net profit dropped by 8.1 percent year-on-year to P3.4 billion, weighed down by a slowdown in the automotive business.

JG Summit and AEV also declined by over 3 percent, while SM Investments lost 2.49 percent. Ayala Corp. shed 1.12 percent.

On the other hand, Ayala Land, ICTSI and Megaworld bucked the day’s downturn, all rising by over 2 percent.