PSEi falls as NCR, other regions return to stricter lockdown

The stock barometer slipped back to the 6,500 level on Friday as the local transmission of the highly contagious Delta coronavirus variant prompted the government to tighten lockdown protocols in the National Capital Region (NCR) and other key regions.

The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell by 55.88 points, or 0.85 percent, to close at 6,520.74 as the government placed anew Metro Manila and the provinces of Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, Davao de Oro and Davao del Norte under a general community quarantine “with heightened restrictions” until July 31.

For the four-day trading week, the PSEi tumbled by a total of 173.09 points, or 2.6 percent, from last week’s closing of 6,693.83.

“Philippine shares were sold once more as investors stayed on the sidelines to see how the Delta variant would spread and what would be the government’s response to this,” said Luis Gerardo Limlingan, managing director at local stock brokerage Regina Capital Development.

The Department of Health confirmed late Thursday it has detected the local transmission of the highly infectious variant. The government likewise banned until July 31 travelers coming from Malaysia and Thailand.

The market’s decline on Friday was led by the property counter, which lost 2.08 percent.

The financial, industrial and mining/oil counters shed over 1 percent, while the holding firm counter slipped by 0.51 percent.

Value turnover for the day amounted to P8.9 billion, buoyed by the P4.48-billion block sale of Rizal Commercial Banking Corp. shares.

There were 172 decliners that overwhelmed 41 advancers, while 24 stocks were unchanged.

Fast-food giant Jollibee declined by 3.41 percent, while conglomerates Ayala Corp. and LTG both lost over 2.8 percent.

Ayala Land went down by 2.64 percent, while SM Prime, BDO, BPI, JG Summit and PLDT all lost over 1 percent.