Share prices hit by trade war fears

SHARE prices dropped on news of US President Donald Trump’s announcement of tariffs on steel and aluminum imports but the market managed to claw back almost all its losses at the end of the day.

Following a 1.07-percent drop at the noon break, the bellwether Philippine Stock Exchange index (PSEi) pared the decline to just 0.09 percent at the closing bell, losing just 7.20 points to 8,458.57.

The broader All Shares, meanwhile, dipped 0.24 percent or 12.29 points to end at 5,065.34.

“There was a scarecrow again coming from the US given the move to increase Grade Finance, Inc. Managing Director Astro del Castillo said.

“There’s a potential trade war so it sparked a global sell-off as most markets

Wall Street tumbled on Trump’s an-

nouncement, which would affect trading allies and rivals alike. The Dow fell 1.68 percent, the S&P 500 by1.33 percent and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped 1.27 percent.

“Trade wars rattled nerves on Wall Street which was obviously Development Corp. analyst said.

sectors managed gains on Friday, rising by 0.59 percent and 0.65 percent, respectively.

More than 4.86 billion issues valued at P7.2 billion changed hands.

Decliners outnumbered advancers, 141 to 74, while 41 issues were unchanged.