Stocks down as foreign selling continues

The local stock barometer started the week on a sluggish note as investors weighed the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) slipped by 35.39 points or 0.74 percent to close at 4,743.37. The decline was more modest compared to last week’s freefall as some bargain-hunters picked up selected stocks.

“We’ll see interim rallies here and there but we’re far from a base. We’ve only been talking about the virus and how it’s spreading but we have yet to see mass layoffs, company closures and defaults, which we will,” said Ron Acoba, chief strategist at equities research provider Trading Edge.

“During the 2008 crisis, majority of the economies are still working and functioning. But this 2020, the entire globe is literally at a standstill with minimal economic activity. Aside from the deaths, financially and economic-wise, this is much worse than 2008 and even worse than the Asian financial crisis in the 1990s,” he said.

Heavy selling right at the market’s open has been the trend since the beginning of the month, said AAA Equities head of research Christopher Mangun.

“Most investors are waiting on the sidelines as the House of Representatives held a hearing on giving special powers to the executive branch to counter the negative effects of the pandemic,” Mangun said.

“We may continue to see the PSEi trade between 4,500 and 5,000 unless we see a spike in volatility,” he said.

Overall, the market was weighed down most by the financial counter, which slid by 5.12 percent. The property counter also fell by 1.12 percent.

On the other hand, the mining/oil counter racked up 4.06 percent, while the holding firm and services counters both gained.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P5.68 billion. Foreign investors continued to dump local equities, resulting in a net foreign selling of P443.7 million for the day.

There were 133 decliners that overwhelmed 55 advancers, while 35 stocks were unchanged. INQ