Uncertainty over trade row drags PSEi anew

LINGERING uncertainty over the protracted trade war between the United States and China continued to take a toll on the stock market.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) slid by 0.56 percent or 43.62 points to close at 7,736.18, while the wider All Shares fell by 0.60 percent or 27.87 points to finish at 4,610.01.

“The Philippine market remained on the sidelines as the risks around the US-China trade policy outlook continued to increase,” Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan said.

The consensus is that the two superpowers would eventually hammer out a partial pact as part of a

wider agreement, which has fueled a global equity rally for weeks, though comments from both sides — both optimistic and downbeat — are keeping dealers on their toes.

The key concern for now is that with the December 15 deadline approaching, US President Donald Trump still has not scrapped planned levies on $160 billion of Chinese goods, which many fear could derail the long-running talks between the world’s two largest economies.

“Buyers have stepped back and are letting ‘weak hands’ do their worst. Next support is at 7,700. However, we may see it bounce back tomorrow and end above the 7,750 major support level,” AAA Equities head of research Christopher Mangun said.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones, S&P 500 and Nasdaq slipped by 0.38 percent, 0.32 percent and 0.40 percent, respectively.

Asian markets were mostly down. Shanghai climbed by 0.10 percent and Seoul added 0.45 percent, but Tokyo slid by 0.09 percent, Hong Kong dropped by 0.12 percent, Jakarta fell by 0.05 percent, Singapore dipped by 0.09 percent, Thailand declined by 0.39 percent and Vietnam lost 0.63 percent.

In Manila, all sectors were down except for property which rose by 0.55 percent.

Volume turnover stood at 524.22 million amounting to P3.84 billion.

Losers outmatched winners, 13955, while 44 issues were unchanged.