Stocks retreat as daily COVID-19 cases keep increasing
The stock barometer slipped to the 6,500 level on Monday as skyrocketing daily domestic COVID-19 cases kept most investors at bay.
The main-share Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) fell by 41.55 points or 0.63 percent to close at 6,591.67.
The market was weighed down most by the property counter, which fell by 2.46 percent as property giants Ayala Land and SM Prime tumbled by 4.32 percent and 1.78 percent, respectively.
The financial, holding firm and mining/oil counters all fell by less than 1 percent.
On the other hand, the industrial and services counters both added less than 1 percent.
Christopher Mangun, head of research at brokerage AAA Equities, said the PSEi would pull back this week as investors weigh the risks of rising COVID-19 cases and deaths.
“The community quarantine classification on Metro Manila was eased from ECQ (enhanced community quarantine) to MECQ (modified ECQ), although, based on the current guidelines of mobility and business activities, nothing has changed,” Mangun said.
He also noted new COVID-19 cases and deaths on a daily basis were almost double the levels seen for most of the year and now turning out to be the worst since the beginning of the pandemic. After the market closed yesterday, the Philippines reported 18,332 new infections, the highest daily count since the pandemic started.
“This is going to be a major concern for investors moving forward, which is why we do not expect prices to go any higher,” Mangun said.
“On the other hand, we do not expect prices to go much lower unless the health situation gets worse and the government loses control. Investors should take the opportunity to pick up shares of their favorite companies when prices pull back,” he added.
Value turnover for the day amounted to P6.29 billion. Domestic investors were the ones mostly paring their holdings, with just a modest P105.79 million worth of net foreign buying.
There were 105 decliners that outnumbered 87 advancers, while 45 stocks were unchanged.
Conglomerates Ayala and SM Investments both lost over 1 percent, while BDO, PLDT, BPI and GT Capital all shed less than 1 percent.
Notable decliners outside the PSEi included Semirara and Cirtek, which both fell by over 3 percent, while newly listed Monde Nissin lost 0.24 percent.
