Philippine stocks plummet on weak US jobs data

MANILA, Philippines—Local share prices fell sharply on Monday to its lowest point in three weeks tracking losses on Wall Street following the release of weak United States jobs data.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) fell 3.40 percent, or 172.24 points, to close at 4,890.20 on Monday, slipping back to the sub-5000 level.

The all-shares index fell 2.58 percent as decliners, at 146, outnumbered advancers, at 28, by more than five to one, while 34 issues were unchanged. About 1.4 billon shares changed hands at P6.39 billion.

All sub-sectors posted losses, with holding firms taking most of the damage after losing 5.08 percent.

Blue chips’ DMCI Holdings and Ayala Corp. were on the list of the day’s top losers, shedding 6.05 percent and 5.93 percent, respectively.

Agribusiness firm Calata Corp., the newest member of the exchange, was the day’s most actively traded stock as it gained 8.86 percent and continued its surge following its initial public offering just over a week ago.

Last Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Averge slipped by 2.22 percent, or 274 points. The US economy added just 69,000 jobs last month, the smallest increase in a year, government data released last week showed. This was below most analysts’ expectations, fueling concerns over the strength of the recovery of the world’s largest economy.