PSEi opens week in the red

THE benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index opened the week in red as coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) cases continue to spike globally.

The local bourse closed at 5,131.16, down 135.46 points or 2.57 percent on Monday, while the wider All Shares fell 2.34 points or 75.19 points to end at 3,144.31.

“With the continued increase in the number of Covid-19 patients [both] locally [and] globally, there is no horizon yet on when this will end, thus pulling down the market,” Diversified Securities Inc. trader Aniceto Pangan said.

In a market comment, Philstocks Financial Inc. attributed the index drop to “Philippine recession worries amid the coronavirus spread.”

As of Monday afternoon, Covid-19 affected 1,418 people in the Philippines,

with 42 recoveries and 71 deaths.

Meanwhile, Philstocks research associate Piper Chaucer Tan said another cause of the dip is that “US markets were down in its last trading session last week.”

“Our local markets will take cues from the US markets in the upcoming weeks since the majority of the funds in the market are foreign funds and local [funds] alone cannot sustain the rally without the presence of foreign funds,” Tan explained.

Regina Capital Development Corp. head of sales Luis Limlingan concurred with the view. “Sentiment took a hit as investors focused back on Covid-19 outbreaks as the US [becomes] the country with the most confirmed cases,” he said.

Locally, all sectors ended bloodied with financials taking the most blow at 3.35 percent.