PSEi lost 5.6% in a week

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange Index (PSEi) plunged over 150 points on Friday, extending losses in the postelection period as investors weighed the cloudy economic outlook and await plans of presumptive president elect Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.

By the closing bell, the PSEi fell 2.34 percent, or 153.13 points, to 6,379.17 even as most regional indices on Friday bounced higher ahead of the weekend, data showed.

The broader all-shares index was lower by 1.7 percent, or 59.81 points, to 3,457.40.

In recent days, analysts pointed to the global slump arising from anticipated aggressive monetary tightening action from central banks to tame surging inflation.

Some were also hoping for clarity from Marcos’ camp on their economic team and postpandemic recovery strategy.

On election day, American financial services giant J.P. Morgan released a new report downgrading the Philippines to “underweight” and placed it at the bottom of an investment preference list due to a “myriad” of challenges facing the economy.

Weekly losses for the PSEi reached 5.6 percent even after the government announced that the economy’s reopening pushed up first quarter gross domestic product by 8.3 percent.

On Friday, most PSE subectors were down led by holding firms, down 4.3 percent, followed by financials (-2.38 percent), mining and oil (-2.04 percent), services (-1.7 percent) and industrial (-1.62 percent).