Stocks fall as vaccine, economic recovery hopes ebb

Stocks snapped a three-day winning run yesterday, hit by a higher-than-expected inflation data, forecast of a deeper economic contraction in the country this year and news that US drugmaker Pfizer Inc. had halved its COVID-19 vaccine production target for 2020. Trading across other emerging Asian stock markets remained mixed as sentiment around downbeat vaccine headlines was partly offset by hopes that a US coronavirus aid plan would be pushed through Congress.

The benchmark Philippine Stock Exchange index or PSEi finished at 7,134.56, down 59.57 points or 0.82 percent while the broader All Shares gauge slipped to 4,250.37, down 22.88 points or 0.53 percent.

The country’s economic managers earlier revised their forecast to a deeper 8.5 to 9.5 percent contraction in GDP, compared with a previous forecast of a 5.5 percent decline.

The Philippine economy, one of Asia’s fastest-growing before the pandemic, is still expected to rebound strongly over the next two years and recent upbeat manufacturing and jobs data have supported the recovery view.

Raul Ruiz, head of research at RCBC Securities, said vaccine headlines were heavily affecting sentiment as investors had turned their attention to the speed and magnitude of recovery in 2021.